Haze could worsen next month: Govt

Haze could worsen next month: Govt

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Haze from forest fires that delayed several flights in Pontianak
on Saturday could worsen in Kalimantan and Sumatra provinces next
month due to a lack of rain and continued land clearing,
officials here warned on Sunday.

The officials blamed local administrations in Sumatra and
Kalimantan for not taking tough measures to prohibit residents
from burning forests to clear land for farming.

"Our office cannot do anything but warn local administrations
that it is their responsibility to seriously tackle the problem
in their own areas," Sudariyono, the deputy minister for
ecosystem maintenance at the Office of the State Minister for the
Environment, said.

He said several companies could also be held responsible for
burning the forest to open up land for plantations, though he
refused to identify the companies.

The government has banned slash-and-burn land clearance, but
many companies and residents continue to ignore the ban.

Sudariyono said haze caused by forest and bush fires had
covered parts of Sumatra island and Central, East and West
Kalimantan for the last several days.

"I have received reports that parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan,
especially Central and East Kalimantan, have been covered by a
smoky haze from the forest fires," he told The Jakarta Post.

On Saturday, smoke disrupted at least five flights to and from
the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak.

Sudariyono said the haze could be expected to get worse and
spread to other islands and neighboring countries because little
rain was expected to fall in September, while the burning of
forests continued unabated.

"The condition could worsen because people in those areas keep
on burning the forest for farming. In addition, there is no
indication that the rainfall will start soon," he said.

He said his office had detected numerous new hot spots across
Kalimantan and Sumatra, but added that he could not provide
details on the fires until Monday.

Last June, haze blanketed Riau, Jambi and nearby areas on
Sumatra island, as well as the western part of Kalimantan. The
haze also spread to neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia.

The worst incident of haze occurred in 1997, and to a lesser
extent in 1998, when choking smoke enveloped large parts of
Southeast Asia for months, causing serious health problems and
disrupting air and ground traffic.

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have blamed each other for
the haze, which continues to be an annual problem despite joint
pledges to address the problem.

Vice President Hamzah Haz has said that Malaysia and Singapore
should share part of the blame for the haze from forest fires,
accusing both countries of involvement in illegal logging in
Indonesia. The two countries have repeatedly denied this.

Malaysian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk
Adenan Satem said on Sunday he believed there was large scale
open burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and less open burning in
the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

"We have banned all open burning on our side and we seek
cooperation of the Indonesian authorities to do the same," said
Adenan as quoted by Malaysia's Star Daily.

He added that he had written to his counterpart in Indonesia
stating Malaysia's concern over the haze.

Contacted separately, the director of the Indonesian National
Police's antiterror department, Brig. Gen. Suharto, said his
office was searching for suspects in illegal forest burning in
Riau and Jambi provinces.

"We have completed dossiers on several suspects in the case,
including a plantation company director who is charged with
employing slash-and-burn land clearing in Riau, which recently
caused widespread smoke," he told the Post.