W. Kalimantan in top alert, fights off haze

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Medan

West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin declared his province on top alert on Thursday, urging local governments to tackle forest fire outbreaks which have been blanketing the province in a haze for the past week.

He demanded all government institutions take concrete action to fight forest fires which were causing health problems to people living in the provincial capital of Pontianak.

Last week, limited visibility because of the haze forced the cancellation of several flights in and out of Pontianak.

Efforts should focus on residential areas, Aspar was quoted as saying by the SCTV television station.

Environmentalists said the government should crack down on illegal loggers and plantation owners who contributed to the haze problem.

Although natural causes are behind many of the forest fires, forest encroachers, illegal loggers and plantation owners often clear forest land by burning.

Though illegal, such clearing methods remain popular. In particular amongst forest encroachers and illegal loggers, whose activities have risen since the late 90s.

In North Sumatra, people in the provincial capital of Medan have, for the past week, been waking up to smoke from forest fires from neighboring towns.

The haze from forest fires in three areas covers Medan, limiting visibility to 2,000 meters.

The head of data management and weather analysis at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), Firman, said that the first fires were lit around July 8 and now numbered 180.

He said forest fires occurred in North Sumatra, Riau and Malaysia. In North Sumatra, hotspots were detected in the regencies of Asahan, Labuhan Batu, South Tapanuli and Mandailing Natal. While in Riau, hotspots were detected in the Bengkalis and Indragiri regencies.

Firman said forest fires in the eastern coast of Sumatra were common during the dry season. Last year, the BMG identified 656 hotspots in North Sumatra.

But as the wind was coming from the southeast slowing around Medan, the haze had began to collect around the city, he said. The city itself is flanked by mountains.

Head of the North Sumatra Ministry of Forestry, Darori, said his office could do little to prevent the annual forest fires.

"We do everything we can every year, but it seems as if forest encroachers are faster and smarter in burning down forests," he said.

Forests have also become a source of contention with neighboring countries. Singapore, which practically has no forest, and Malaysia are frequent victims of haze from forest fires in Sumatra.

Since the great forest fires in 1997, the three countries have stepped up efforts to jointly battle forest fires with Malaysia often sending its fire troops to help their Indonesian counterparts.