Sarwono wants all-out effort to combat haze

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja called yesterday for continued alertness and urged individuals with expertise to assist in alleviating the haze problem.

"We need to increase alertness around Indonesia," he said.

"All government instructions to extinguish fires should be conducted in an integrated way," he said.

He called for cooperation between the government, the general public, the business sector and the international community, but stressed the importance of local actions.

"The lead should be taken at the local level," he said.

Sarwono said the government badly needed information technology equipment, mapping information and digital computer experts to locate hot spots.

"If there are any digital computer experts out there, please help us here. If necessary, ask your company for an absence of leave," he said.

Sarwono warned the prolonged dry spell, the rise in average temperatures and the strong and changing wind could contribute to the spread of the fires.

He said recommendations were being drawn up to deal with this year's weather patterns, greatly influenced by El Nino effects.

"The weather is king. We have to be ready and adjust ourselves to its pattern. Not the other way around," Sarwono said.

Based on El Nino's wind patterns, Sarwono said there is a possibility the haze may come to Jakarta in November.

The Environmental Impact Management Agency's coordination center told The Jakarta Post yesterday that as of Friday the fires had razed about 71,636 hectares of forests, 46,375 of which were productive forest.

Cleansing

While operations to douse escalating forest fires continue, the government is stepping up relief in areas most afflicted by thick haze caused by the fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

Director General of Medical Services Soejoga said the government had sent 400,000 masks plus hundreds of thousands of medical supplies to people in North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan.

The masks would protect residents from ash and other haze particles and the medicine would assist those suffering from respiratory problems, Soejoga said as quoted by Antara in Bandung, West Java.

More than 32,000 people are suffering from respiratory problems and eye irritations.

Malaysia and Singapore have also been affected by the haze.

A Ministry of Health official in charge of research and development, Umar Fahmi Achmadi, said the haze contained a blend of dangerous chemical substances, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitrogen monoxide (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), suspended particulate matter and ammonia (NH3).

Soejoga said each hospital in the provinces was provided with an isolation ward, but its capacity would be inadequate to accommodate babies, children and the elderly.

"The most feasible protective measure is to avoid outdoor activities for the time being," he said.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas, who also heads the country's National Disaster Management Coordinating Agency, said in Bandung that the haze blanketing large parts of Southeast Asia was also due to El Nino, a climatic phenomenon which sucks moisture from the western side of the Pacific Ocean, disrupting normal weather patterns and inducing prolonged dry spells in much of the region.

He said Indonesia accepted international offers of assistance to put out the fires.

"It shows the spirit of solidarity among countries in the region which have an interest to help us," he said.

Malaysia has deployed 1,000 firefighters, with Japan, Australia, Singapore and South Korea having revealed their commitments. (amd)