Pontianak most liable to forest fires
Pontianak most liable to forest fires
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has issued a list indicating those regencies prone
to forest fires, with the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak
heading the list.
The list was drawn up based on several variables, including
land and forest usage, dry months, short- and long-term average
rainfall and interpretation of satellite imagery.
Before the issuance of the list, the Ministry of Forestry had
detected thousands of hot spots in the four provinces, many of
which were located in forest concessions and industrial estates.
However, the government appears to be reluctant to produce
evidence to sue the firms on neglecting the environment and to
develop a strategy on extinguishing the fires.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has initiated
a move to sue 20 companies and seven local governments in Riau
for their negligence in preventing forest fires in their
respective areas.
Following Walhi's initiative, the government expressed its
support for any legal recourse pursued against firms that caused
forest fires.
To date, the director of Malaysian company PT Adei plantation
has been sentenced by a local court to two years in jail for
starting forest fires. The company was also fined US$1.1 million
in compensation to the government, which it agreed to pay.
PT Cipta Daya Sejati, in Kampar regency, was also penalized,
but only with light sentences -- three employees of the company
were sentenced to between three and six months in jail.
Meanwhile, Antara reported from Jambi that the local
administration was on full alert to tackle forest fires in the
province following the recurrence of forest fires in several
provinces.
Jambi governor Zulkifli Nurdin called on the people and
forestry companies not to burn land in order to clear the land.
"Anyone who dares to clear the land with the slash-and-burn
method will be punished severely," he said.
The list, presented by the deputy assistant on information at
the Office of the State Minister of the Environment, revealed
that most of the regencies in North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi and West
Kalimantan were prone to forest fires.
Over 330,000 hectares of the area within Pontianak's
jurisdiction is categorized as very vulnerable to fire, while it
was reported that forest fires could easily occur in over 245,000
hectares of Ketapang and 180,000 hectares of Kapuas Hulu.
West Kalimantan consists of 10 regencies and municipalities.
In Riau, Indragiri Hilir regency tops the list with over
250,000 hectares vulnerable to forest fires, followed by
Bengkalis, with over 80,000 hectares prone to forest fires, and
Pelewawan, with 61,000 hectares susceptible.
Riau comprises nine regencies, one municipality and one
administrative city.
In North Sumatra, South Tapanuli ranked first with 57,000
hectares prone to forest fires.
Labuhan Batu regency followed South Tapanuli with 56,000
hectares vulnerable to forest fires, followed by Central Tapanuli
with 21,000 hectares susceptible to fire.
North Sumatra consists of 19 regencies, municipalities and
administrative cities.
In Jambi, East Tanjung Jabung, with over 77,000 hectares,
ranked the most susceptible, followed by Muaro Jambi and Batang
Hari with 65,000 hectares and 26,000 hectares, respectively.
Jambi has nine regencies and one municipality.