Walhi plans to sue 20 firms over forest fires

Walhi plans to sue 20 firms over forest fires

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Forum on the Environment (Walhi) said on Thursday
it would file a lawsuit against 20 companies and seven local
governments in Riau later this week over forest fires and their
disastrous effects on the environment in the province.

Walhi executive director Longgena Ginting said that the
lawsuit was necessary as the companies were involved in the
forest fires and the local administrations in the province had
taken no action against them.

"We hope we will win the case to help save the environment as
well as to avoid any reappearance of thick haze that has hit not
only the province but also neighboring countries.

"This lawsuit is also expected to raise public awareness of
the importance of the law," he said, stressing that forest fires
had been an annual phenomenon in Riau as many companies practiced
the slash-and-burn method to clear their land for agriculture and
plantations.

The coordinator of the Walhi office in Riau, Ruli Sumanda,
said the companies that were allegedly involved in such
practices, and which Walhi was going to sue, included PT Inti
Indosawit, PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa and PT Ratt.

Walhi will also sue the relevant local authorities in
Pekanbaru, Rokan Hulu, Rokan Hilir, Indragiri Hulu, Indragiri
Hilir, Dumai, Bengkalis for their inaction in dealing with forest
fires, he said.

So far, a Malaysian company, PT Adei Plantation, has been
punished by a local court for causing forest fires. Its director
was sentenced to two years in jail and the company was ordered to
pay US$1.1 million in compensation to the government.

PT Cipta Daya Sejati in Kampar regency was also convicted but
the punishments meted out were light. Three perpetrators were
sentenced to between three months and six months in jail.

The government banned the slash-and-burn method in 1999, but
many firms and local people still practice it to save on the cost
of land clearance.

In a related development, air pollution in Pekanbaru has
reached an alarming level over the last few days because of
widespread forest fires in the province, raising health concerns
and disrupting traffic.

The Environmental Management Agency (Bapedalda) office in
Pekanbaru detected 1,280 hot spots in the province on June 9. The
resulting thick haze has now reached the southern part of
Thailand.

Meanwhile, the North Sumatra government has issued a high
alert warning over the choking haze, and scores of firefighters
and dozens of fire trucks have been deployed to put out forest
fires in Labuhan Batu and South Tapanuli regencies.

In Tanjungbalai regency, thousands of fishermen have had their
boats tied up for weeks as thick haze has limited visibility at
sea to less than 100 meters.