Thick black haze blankets Jambi
Jakarta/Jambi/Riau
Thick black haze from hundreds of hectares of peat fires in three regencies in Jambi province has covered Jambi city for four days now.
Although current visibility is still considered at a normal range of more than 100 meters, many drivers were observed with their headlights on during the day.
The haze that has become thicker every day has forced motorcyclists to cover their faces with handkerchiefs -- no mask traders were seen in the area, nor were institutions passing out free masks this year.
Although many residents have started to complain that the thick haze stings their eyes and is causing them to develop respiratory problems, the Jambi administration has yet to issue a statement on the situation.
The peat fires have also burned down 100 houses at the transmigration settlement of Sungai Gelam III in Batanghari Regency.
No fatalities were reported in the fires that started on Friday, but all residents of Sungai Gelam III were evacuated to the nearby village of Sumber Agung.
It is feared that the fires could spread to nearby Sungai Gelam II transmigration settlement due to strong winds, a large number of tree stumps, and houses that were built too close together.
Field reports state that both residents and officials of the manpower and transmigration office have taken no action to put out the fires.
In Pekanbaru, Riau, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) reported that weather conditions were improving. Rain, which fell from midnight on Monday through until Tuesday at 2.15 a.m., had swept away much of the haze.
A chicken-noodle-soup trader, Tukino, 55, had gladly welcomed the rain. "Thank God, because of the heavy downpour last night our well will be full again," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The Environmental Impact Management Agency in Pekanbaru said that as of Monday, there were 130 hot spots spread across several regions, including Siak and Rokan Hulu.
Environmentalist say that the government seems powerless to act against the fires, which have sprung up in both agricultural and forestry areas.
"This forest fires are the responsibility of the government. Ministries should not blame each other, because they are supposed to be one team -- the central government," said Emil Salim, former state minister of the environment in a seminar on Forest Management and Illegal Logging at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Tuesday.
Emil said that local administrations through to the central government, law enforcers and local people were responsible for the fires.
Head of the Forest Fire Laboratory Division at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) Bambang Hero Saharjo said that the slash-and-burn land clearance method was dangerous.
He further said that the burning of peat caused the loss of water reserves and could even cause floods, as rain water would run to lower ground as the peat had lost its absorption capacity.
The peat layer contributes greatly to water conservation as it is more porous than other soils. According to research conducted by the forest fire laboratory, a 10 cm reduction in the peat layer will cause the loss of 650 cubic meters of water reserves per hectare.