Hot spots found in Riau forests

PEKANBARU, Riau: The local administration announced on Wednesday it had found at least 80 hot spots in plantations across the province after a day's monitoring.

Head of the Sumatra chapter of the Environmental Management Agency (Bapedal) M. Alamsyah suspected that holders of forest concessionaires were intentionally burning areas of plantations area after the harvest.

Alamsyah warned that the smoke from the fires could blanket the oil-rich province, as happened in 1998.

Spokesman for the local geophysics and meteorological office, Khairul Usman, told Antara the visibility in Riau's capital of Pekanbaru between six and eight in the morning was measured at only about 250 meters, although it returned to normal after 9:30 a.m.

Law No. 41/1999 on forest protection threatens plantation owners with jail terms for causing fires. (dja)