Hot spots found in Riau forests

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)