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)