Sumatran forest-fire prevention team briefed
PEKANBARU, Riau (JP): The Ministry of Forestry urged its officials in Sumatra to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of forest fires, which tend to break out on the island during the dry season.
"1996 is expected to be a forest-fire prone year. We need to step up our vigilance," Soemarsono, the Director General for Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, said on Tuesday.
"The impact of the forest fire in Sumatra could transcend national borders that it requires serious handling," Soemarsono told a meeting of an inter-departmental team which was also attended by State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.
"Preventing forest fires is more important than containing them. Your working program should emphasize the prevention aspect," he added.
Some 6,437 hectares of forests and 3,880 hectares of plantation sites were razed during last year's dry season.
The hazard remains a major concern of the government, despite the progress that has been made since last year in controlling the outbreak of fires.
In 1994, out-of-control forest fires sent waves of thick black smoke over neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, posing major health hazards to people there as well as Sumatra and Kalimantan. Government figures show that 178,193 hectares of forests were razed in 1994.
Quoting officials at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta, Soemarsono said the dry season outside of Java is likely to start in May. "We have to make the necessary preparations to anticipate them (forest fires) early."
Soemarsono also heads the National Coordination Team for the Prevention of Forest Fires which groups officials from various related government agencies, including the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal).
Minister Sarwono, who also chairs Bapedal, said that most forest fires are caused by the reckless exploitation of forestry resources.
Forest concession holders, he said, tend to choose the easiest method for clearing forests, which they accomplish by setting fire to piles of logs and brush.
This irresponsible practice, he said, is also widely used to clear forestry areas for settlements and industrial sites.
"They could have used the chips as raw materials for pulp and plywood," he said.
He said Indonesia is still studying modern forest management technologies which help optimize forestry resources while conserving them at the same time.
He said compost, for example, is found in abundance on timber estates and should be used as organic fertilizer.
"Plantation sites in Sumatra have to import 300,000 tons of organic fertilizer each year, when compost could be used for that purpose," the minister said.
Sarwono said that some locals are also to blame for the forest fires because many still practice slash and burn farming. (imn)