Government warns of more forest fires

Government warns of more forest fires

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government said on Wednesday forest fires might spread from
Riau, West and Central Kalimantan to several provinces in Sumatra
and Kalimantan as total hot spots now reached 234.

The government also urged local administrations in those
islands to take necessary measures to anticipate fires which
often cause haze in Malaysia and Singapore.

Willistra Danny, division head of forest fires detection and
evaluation at the Ministry of Forestry said as of Tuesday there
were 128 hot spots in Riau, 49 in North Sumatra, 38 in South
Sumatra and 21 in Aceh.

He, however, said that hot spots in Kalimantan were unrecorded
as the satellite did not pass the island.

"Local administrations should now take necessary actions to
control forest and bush fires," Willi said.

"It's quite ridiculous that forest and bush fires occur and
that the central government must send teams to put out the
fires."

According to him, the central government should only give
early forest fire warnings and issue policy.

So far, he said the central government had given provincial
administrations warning letters to control forest and bush fires
as the El Nino effect would be still strong after June.

"We also call on forest concessionaire holders, plantations
and local people not to use the slash-and-burn method when
clearing their land," he said.

Routine patrols by forest rangers should also be conducted
continuously to monitor burning activities in Sumatra and
Kalimantan, he said.

So far, only five provincial administrations in Sumatra and
Kalimantan had replied to the central government letters, he
added. "They include South Sumatra, East Kalimantan, West
Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan," Willi said.

Last week, the Malaysian Environment Department said thick
haze had returned to Malaysian skies in a yearly occurrence
brought on by dry weather as well as increased fires in the
Indonesian island of Sumatra.

It reported that satellite images on Tuesday last week
detected 49 hot spots -- areas showing high levels of heat caused
by burning -- in Sumatra, which were believed to be forest fires.

Riau, West and Central Kalimantan have reportedly confirmed
the presence of forest fires in their areas.

The Riau Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda)
chief Ahmad Syah has said, "if no actions are taken we will be
facing the same fate as in previous years. The haze that starts
covering parts of the province, including the city, will disturb
air traffic not only in the province but also in neighboring
countries Singapore and Malaysia and could cause respiratory
problems for locals".

The government has so far taken legal action against several
plantation companies that burned trees when clearing their land.

So far, the local administration has fined a Malaysian company
PT Adei Plantation US$1.1 million for burning forest areas.