Haze endures despite rainfall

The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru/Jambi/Pontianak

After a clear afternoon, a thin haze again began to cover Pekanbaru, Riau on Sunday despite rain in several parts of the city. Haze cleared in Jambi in southern Sumatra but parts of Pontianak, West Kalimantan were still shrouded in a thick smog.

And like the weather, it is still not yet clear whether the haze issue will come up at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forum of foreign ministers gathering in Jakarta.

"The haze (issue) is not on the agenda but it's possible the countries concerned could raise the subject either at the plenary or bilateral meetings. We have more relevant bodies taking up the subject," MC Abad Jr., the head of the ASEAN Regional Forum unit, said at the start of the meeting on Saturday.

The 37th ministerial meeting is being convened primarily to approve the plan of action for the "ASEAN Security Community." In previous years ASEAN had come up with joint measures to overcome the haze problem.

Forest fires in Indonesia have been blamed for the haze, which has disrupted flights and affected residents in Singapore and Malaysia. One presidential candidate, incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz, has said the haze problem should be expected given the business in illegal logging involving Singapore and Malaysia.

On Sunday, the situation in Pekanbaru, which has experienced the worst haze in the country so far, was better compared to that of the past four days, when the city was shrouded in a thick black cloud. Thousands of people managed to joine a walk to commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse.

"Although it's cloudy, you can see less haze across the city today. We're enjoying this improved weather," a resident, M. Sulaiman Khatib told The Jakarta Post.

Riau Meteorology and Geophysics department head Purwoko Susilo said a return of the haze was likely, as frequent rains were not expected until September. "Even if rain falls during the next two months, it would only be a little and sporadic," Purwoko said.

Heavy rain in the neighboring province of Jambi on Saturday swept away most of the haze that had covered the city during the past two days. The rain began at 5 p.m. and lasted until midnight and on Sunday the sky was clear.

However, it is uncertain if the clear conditions would continue in the area. Seven of the 10 regions in the province are known as pollution hot spots, with thousands of hectares of vegetation continuing to burn after land clearing.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, motorists continued to wear face masks as a thick smog covered the province on Sunday, despite rain that fell heavily in most parts of the city.

Deputy Minister of Conservation at the Ministry of Environment Sudariyono said his office had cooperated with the police and the ministries of forestry and agriculture to warn all firms in the agriculture and forestry sectors to stop clearing land.

"We warned all of the firms they would be investigated and punished if there is evidence they are involved in forest burning," Sudariyono said. There could be dozens of suspects, he said, as satellite images had identified hot spots in dozens of forest areas where plantation operations were occuring.

So far, only one suspect, a director of a plantation firm in Riau, has been arrested by police.