Governors ordered to take drastic steps to end haze

Governors ordered to take drastic steps to end haze

The Associated Press, Jakarta

Indonesia's president ordered regional governors on Friday to
take immediate action to prevent forest fires, which in recent
years have sent a noxious haze over parts of neighboring Malaysia
and Singapore.

"We should not 'export' this haze anymore," Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono told an audience of governors. "Take action at this
very moment and do not be negligent."

The annual fires since 1997 have become a sensitive issue
between Indonesia and its neighbors and have caused air traffic
disruptions, health problems and damage to tourism.

Most of the fires on Sumatra and Kalimantan islands are set by
companies seeking to clear land cheaply for lumber, rubber and
palm oil plantations.

Indonesia has often been accused by its neighbors of not
tackling the problem seriously. In August it threatened to bring
10 companies - eight Malaysian and two Indonesian - to court, but
so far only one has been fined.