Nomads blamed for Kalimantan forest fires

Nomads blamed for Kalimantan forest fires

PUNCAK, West Java (JP): Nomadic tribes who are still
practicing slash and burn cultivation caused the majority of this
year's bushfires in Kalimantan, Minister of Transmigration
Siswono Yudohusodo said yesterday.

"Our studies suggest that most of the fires in Kalimantan were
caused by transient farming practiced by the local people,"
Siswono told reporters after a meeting with Minister of Forestry
Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo in this hill resort.

The widespread bushfires have caused huge blankets of haze in
many parts of Kalimantan and virtually paralyzed air
transportation in major cities in the four Kalimantan centers.

Neighboring Malaysia has complained about the smog blown over
from the bushfires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. In Singapore, the
smog has posed health problems for people.

Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said yesterday that
Malaysia is trying to bring environment officials from Indonesia
and Brunei to a meeting in Singapore next month to discuss cross-
border pollution caused by the forest fire.

"We must solve this problem through joint talks as it involves
trans-national pollution," he was quoted by AFP as saying.

Law said Kuala Lumpur is trying to include the case in the
Oct. 16 meeting environment representatives from the United
Nations, and Thailand and the Philippines -- who are in the
Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) with Indonesia,
Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.

Singapore's air pollution index was the worst on record
yesterday, jumping to 142 by yesterday afternoon from 110 on
Monday, a spokesman for Singapore's environment ministry said.

"It's the highest PSI recorded so far," he told Reuters.

Readings between 101-199 are considered unhealthy but most
people can continue normal activities. The spokesman said soot
and ash pose the biggest problem.

Singapore hospitals reported a significant increase in acute
respiratory infection and asthma cases on Monday.

A total of 6,097 cases of eye, skin or chest irritation were
reported at clinics on Monday, up from 3,445 on Saturday, the
health ministry said.

The fire is most widespread in Central Kalimantan, where it
has affected over some 80,000 hectares of forest. In East
Kalimantan, it has burnt some 200 hectares, according to the
Kompas daily newspaper yesterday.

Political

Djamaludin on Monday suggested that politically-motivated
arson may have been behind some of the forest fires in
Kalimantan.

Yesterday he rectified his remarks by saying that this
allegation applies only to one case in West Kalimantan.

He was referring to a recent violent incident pitting local
indigenous people with a forestry company. Scores of local people
have been arrested after they set fire to base camps and a bridge
belonging to the forestry company.

The conflict apparently was started because of overlapping
claims between the company and the local people, but both
Djamaludin and Siswono said they believed that a third party had
been fanning the conflict that led to the violence.

Siswono said there were no major problems before even though
the forestry project has been underway for one year.

"Thus we wonder how come the site was suddenly ambushed by
people from eight different villages," Djamaludin said. "There
must be some parties hostile to national economic development
behind it."

The forestry company in question is currently developing a
timber estate combining it with the opening of a transmigration
program. Under the government's HTI-Trans program, the forestry
company has been asked to employ new settlers.

Siswono and Djamaludin yesterday reviewed the HTI-Trans and
agreed to push things faster because the program has been moving
too slowly since it was introduced a year ago.

Joint decree

The two ministers signed a joint decree no. 126/1994 which
aims to cut red tape so that land appropriations for the HTI-
Trans program can be executed efficiently while avoiding any
overlapping claims.

The Ministry of Forestry has provided about 27 million
hectares of convertible forests to the HTI program for the coming
five years. Djamaludin said yesterday that up to this month about
831,937 have been appropriated.

Siswono said his office aims to provide about one million
hectares for about 550,000 families, consisting of settlers and
forest squatters, in the HTI program over the next five years.

Both ministers conceded that the program had not been
implemented as well at it should have been due to limited funds
and the lack of competent timber estate companies to execute the
program.

Siswono said there are 47 companies presently involved in this
scheme. However, 15 lost their concessions recently and 28 others
are beset with management problems. (hdj)