Indonesia to seed clouds in effort to contain fires
Indonesia to seed clouds in effort to contain fires
KUCHING, Malaysia (Agencies): Indonesia plans to start cloud- seeding today to try to contain forest fires said to be raging out of control in eastern Borneo, Environment Minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said yesterday.
"As of tomorrow, we will be employing weather modification methods," he said after meeting his counterparts from the other eight member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss joint measures against fires which engulfed much of the region in a thick haze last year.
"Clouds are now coming into Kalimantan," he told a news conference, referring to the Indonesian part of the island. "The conditions are favorable. We will seed the clouds. It can be serious if it is neglected."
Sarwono said the area of damage in Eastern Kalimantan was some 4,000 hectares and most of the fires were in secondary forests.
"Fires in damaged secondary forests are very hard to control," he said. "There is an immediate need to mobilize weather modification equipment and also small planes. It is not sufficient but it can limit damage."
The Indonesia minister said East Kalimantan had experienced only two months of rainfall over the past year, in November and December, and land clearing by the private sector was only a "small" factor behind the fires.
Southeast Asian nations, worried over new forest fires in cash-strapped Indonesia, appealed yesterday for international aid to help prevent the blazes from creating a recurrence of last year's smog crisis.
They said the United States, Germany, France and Canada had offered aid, but more was needed.
Raging fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra last year threw a thick blanket of smog over much of Southeast Asia, causing a health hazard, forcing many schools to close and hitting tourism. This year's fires have caused intermittent smog on Borneo island.
"The meeting noted that the fires in east Kalimantan are of serious concern because of the prolonged dry weather and welcomed any immediate international assistance, especially in enhancing the fire-fighting capacity," the ministers said in a joint statement issued during a one-day meeting.
The ministers said the United States had offered US$4 million and the Asian Development Bank another $1.2 million to help ASEAN develop a strategy to prevent a recurrence of the smog crisis. In addition, the ADB is preparing a $1 million grant for Indonesia.
Germany, France and Canada have also pledged aid, but more would be needed, they said.
"The fires in the forests are very difficult to control," Sarwono said, adding that currently Indonesia had only three planes for dropping water on the forest fires.
Indonesia's economic crisis has raised worries it will lack the resources to fight the fires, a senior ASEAN official said.
"What is more, there is increased pressure on people and firms to clear the land with fire and use it to raise much needed income," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
The ministers called on Indonesia to spell out what it needed to combat the new blazes, including international assistance, and urged Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur to activate a bilateral disaster plan signed last year that could help Indonesia fight the fires. Malaysia and Indonesia last year signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperating in combating natural disasters, but it has not yet been activated.
The ASEAN ministers urged the two nations to implement the pact quickly so other countries could channel aid through it.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Sarwono said it was impossible now to determine how much aid Indonesia might need as it would depend on weather conditions. But he noted that each airborne operation cost $3,000 per hectare.