Walhi sues governor for neglecting forest fires
Walhi sues governor for neglecting forest fires
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) is suing Riau
governor Saleh Djasit for negligence over his inability to handle
forest fires in the province.
"We have filed the lawsuit with Pekanbaru District Court. The
trial will likely start in two weeks," Walhi's deputy director
for Riau M. Tegus Surya told the Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Earlier this month Walhi sued seven regents and 20 forest
concession holders and plantation companies over forest fires.
He said the governor and regents in Riau must be held
accountable for the reoccurrence of forest fires as they were the
authorities that issued licenses to firms that allegedly
initiated or failed to put out forest fires on their lands.
In the lawsuits, Walhi has demanded the governor and regents
stop issuing licenses to clear land or convert land into
plantations, fight the fires in protected forests and set up
health posts to help people who suffer acute respiratory
infections resulting from the haze, he said.
The Riau provincial administration said it was to defend
itself in court.
"We have set up a team to handle forest fires. The team has
also searched for those who sparked the forest fires," Riau
Deputy Governor R.A. Azis said.
Walhi said that this year alone about 50,000 hectares of
forest in Riau had been destroyed, inflicting losses of about Rp
2.3 billion on the country in the form of health problems, forest
ecosystem destruction, decreasing water resources and
unproductive farm land.
A Malaysian company, PT Adei Plantation, has been convicted 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.
Meanwhile in Pontianak, the West Kalimantan provincial
administration was attempting to rid Supadio airport from haze by
granting compensation to farmers who do not burn down their
farmland within five kilometers of the airport.
Under the compensation scheme, the farmers will be allowed to
shift their land for fishery activities or aloe planting
activities for three months, Environment Management Agency
(Bapedalda) environmental damage and pollution management
regional head Wawan Hermawan said.
Wawan said that in the long run, the farmers would be
encouraged to use organic fertilizers so they did not have to
burn their land.
Slash-and-burn methods are considered the cheapest and most
effective way to clear land before planting. Besides, ash from
the fires is believed to be a good fertilizer.