Tragedy in Jayawijaya

Tragedy in Jayawijaya

Some good news -- if any news coming amid reports of hundreds
of people dying of hunger and disease can be called good -- has
come to us from Indonesia's westernmost province, Irian Jaya.

Reports received in Jakarta from Wamena, on the island's
Jayawijaya Regency, said yesterday that smoke from forest fires,
which had been hanging over the Baliem Valley for weeks, had
begun to lift. With the smoke dispersing it will be possible for
light aircrafts to fly some necessary supplies into the region's
famine-stricken capital.

But the fires that have, so far, ravaged more than 80,000
hectares of forests -- including tracts in the highly valued
subalpine Lorentz National Park -- were reported to be still
spreading. And, as of yesterday, hundreds of other residents in
Jayawijaya and neighboring Merauke regencies are still in peril
as the drought continues.

So far 265 people have reportedly died because of food
shortages and contaminated drinking water. That figure may grow
further considering the lack of supplies and the delay in supply.

We are sure that the authorities in Jayapura, Irian Jaya's
provincial capital, and in the regencies affected by the calamity
are doing whatever they can, within their means, to cope with the
disaster.

Freeport Indonesia, the oft-criticized copper mining company,
is reportedly doing its bit to help, as is the Mission Aviation
Fellowship (MAF), which has been working in the area for decades.

Nevertheless, for those living in Jakarta it may be difficult
to overlook the view that, perhaps, more can and should be done
to help the people in those areas in the relatively isolated and
remote corner of this country.

Little, if anything at all, has been heard of coordinated
efforts being organized from Jakarta.

It may be that the authorities in charge of disaster relief
management are still too busy trying to control the forest fires
that are raging in Kalimantan and Sumatra, and to cope with the
haze disaster which is now a regional problem.

Indeed, there can be no denying that in terms of both extent
and international repercussion, the fires that are continuing
unabated in the western parts of the archipelago are much larger
in scope than those that have plagued Irian Jaya.

In Kalimantan and Sumatra, it is estimated that more than
800,000 hectares of forests have been destroyed. As a result of
the smoke, some 32,000 people are said to be suffering
respiratory problems and two people are reported to have died so
far. By comparison, the fires in Irian Jaya have affected "only"
about 80,000 hectares.

In terms of the toll it takes on human lives, however, the
Irian Jaya disaster is surely a far bigger tragedy. Much of the
terrain in the disaster-stricken area is well nigh inaccessible
except by air, and bringing in supplies is difficult enough
without smoke hampering communications.

The environmental damage which the drought and the fires have
caused in this remote Indonesian province should not be
underestimated. Many of the subalpine plant species which grow in
Lorentz National Park on the Jayawijaya range are unique to that
region and are probably found nowhere else in Indonesia.

In short, the urgency of the problems in other provinces
notwithstanding, Irian Jaya deserves the same attention that
other areas of this country are getting.

In the meantime, all those catastrophes provide a lesson that
must not be forgotten. Our present problems are a direct result
of our own lack of respect for the environment.

As the present development has hopefully taught us, what may
in isolation seem like small environmental misdemeanors could
grow into a problem of regional or even international dimensions.

Now that the harm is done, the best that is left for us to do
is to take responsibility, try to repair the damage and resolve
that this must never happen again.