Haze problems continue in C. Kalimantan
Haze problems continue in C. Kalimantan
JAKARTA (JP): Haze from forest fires in Central Kalimantan has
shown no signs of abating, prompting the provincial government to
call on residents to wear face masks.
Haze levels dropped slightly in the main city of Palangkaraya
after rain fell on Friday and Saturday but the haze monitor still
showed that the level was hazardous to health.
In the worst hit areas, visibility was about 100 meters. The
haze, which occurs every year comes from forest fires caused
mainly by land clearing activities.
The call for residents to wear masks came from Tukik B. Tumon,
chief of the Central Kalimantan provincial health office, who is
worried that the haze will create health problems.
"A dampened mask is useful to block the poisonous particles in
the haze from entering the body," he was quoted by Antara as
saying. Tukik has appealed to the provincial legislative council
for support in his campaign on the wearing of face masks.
Tukik advised locals to stop their outdoor activities when
visibility is about 100 meters or less, otherwise it would pose a
serious risk to their health.
Councillors have urged the provincial administration to create
health command posts to deal with the haze hazard.
In Jakarta, the forestry ministry and the state minister of
research and technology are considering cloud seeding to halt the
spread of forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
"Cloud seeding is the most feasible technique to put out
forest fires," Forestry Minister Muhammad Prakosa said after
meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday.
Prakosa said that the water cannons commonly used to fight
forest fires were not effective.
Prakosa refused to say when the project would begin as the
study by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of
Technology would take some time.
Forest fires are most common in Kalimantan and North Sumatra.
Last week, fires disrupted flights in West Kalimantan and haze
reached neighboring Malaysia.
Prakosa said that 99 percent of forest fires in Indonesia were
caused by human activities and the rest by nature, such as
burning peat fires in Kalimantan.
A recent World Bank study shows that large-scale land clearing
contributes to 34 percent of cases of forest fires, slash-and-
burn farming 25 percent, permanent farming 17 percent, conflict
between locals and concessionaires 14 percent and transmigration
eight percent.
President Megawati asked the minister to prioritize five
issues in forestry, illegal logging, logging theft in national
parks, acceleration of the reforestation program, forest fires
and monitoring the impact of regional autonomy. (dja/pan)