Vacationers warned about more disasters

Vacationers warned about more disasters

JAKARTA (JP): The government has issued a fresh warning to
vacationers about the safety of their trips during the upcoming
holidays as certain parts of Indonesia remain prone to flood,
landslide and related natural disasters.

Director General for Rural Development Soenarno said on
Thursday that based on environmental conditions and the pattern
of rivers, the areas most susceptible to flood or landslide were
Java island, West Timor, South Maluku, Irian -- particularly
Merauke and Jayapura -- the central and southern parts of South
Sulawesi and East Kalimantan.

"Floods will likely hit the northern and southern parts of
Java, with Bandung, Surabaya and Madiun the major towns to watch
out for," he said.

Citing Ministry of Settlement and Regional Development data,
Soenarno said altogether there were at least 15 "wetspot" areas
along the northern coast of Java and 12 along the other side of
the island.

The ministry is also expecting 10 rivers to overflow in the
southern part of Java between Cilacap and Purworejo, both in
Central Java, during the upcoming rainy season.

Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) data reveals that
nearly half of the country's 360 regencies are prone to natural
disasters.

From January to November this year, 32 regencies were hit by
floods and landslides, 15 of them in Java and the rest in Sumatra
and Sulawesi.

All of the disaster-stricken regencies experienced heavy rain
lasting more than two days, up from the normal precipitation
level of 50 millimeters, Soenarno said.

"Therefore, all officials in the field must be alert if there
is an intense downpour, and warn people, particularly commuters,"
he told The Jakarta Post by phone from Manado.

He said the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Development
has issued a map of flood-prone areas across the country.

Some 18 million people in the country are expected to travel
from their places of residence to their hometowns to celebrate
the triple holiday of Christmas, Idul Fitri and New Year.

People can access www.bakornaspb.or.id or call the hotline at
(021) 345-8400 or 345-8500 for information on disaster-hit areas.

Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Erna
Wiotelar has blamed widespread environmental damage and freak
weather patterns for the disasters.

Deforestation

State Minister for the Environment Sonny Keraf gave voice to
the same concerns on Thursday, saying that in several regions
deforestation had played a significant role in giving rise to
recent floods and landslides.

Data obtained by his office and the National Environmental
Protection Agency (Bappedal) showed that in several regions,
there was a strong correlation between damaged forests and
floods.

"In Sumatra for example, forests in the inundated regions are
damaged, either by forest fires which happen every year, or
illegal logging and looting," he told a media conference here.

"The data processing is only 89 percent completed, but we have
strong indications about the correlation."

There were some exceptions, however. For example, in the case
of the flooding in the Central Java town of Cilacap, where the
forests were still in good condition but where floods and
landslides continued to occur.

"In this case, climate factors are more likely as the data
shows that the rainfall level is higher this year," Sonny said,
adding that the floods were caused by sedimentation in rivers.

Whatever the cause was, Sonny said, the natural disasters
should increase people's awareness of long-term environmental
preservation.

The State Minister for the Environment's office has recorded
that as of January this year, some 55 percent of natural forests
or around 22.7 million hectares managed by forest concession
(HPH) holders had been logged or damaged.

In the regions hit by the floods and landslides in Sumatra,
namely Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Jambi, the damaged
areas were above 50 percent on average.

The Ministry of Forestry has been aware for some time that
protected forests have also been damaged.

Its report in 1997 revealed that some 46 percent of a total of
12.5 million hectares of protected forest were damaged.

Of forests in conservation areas, which amount to 17.3 million
hectares, 38 percent have been damaged.

The damage from 1998 through 2000 was likely to be even
greater, the report said.

As for forest fires, Forest Resources Assessment (FAO) has
revealed that an estimated 1.2 million hectares of Indonesian
forest were cleared annually between 1981 and 1990, or 8 percent
of the world's annual forest loss.

FAO also estimated in 1999 that around two million hectares of
Indonesian forests had been burned in 1997 with more areas being
set on fire in 1998. (hdn/edt)