Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, Jul 26, 2014
Jakarta. Indonesia’s disaster agency warned on Friday that the haze in Riau province on Western Sumatra island would likely exacerbate after satellites detected 346 hot spots across Sumatra, mostly in Riau.
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| This picture taken on March 19, 2014 shows smoke rising from a cleared forest land in Pelalawan Regency, Riau province. (AFP Photo) |
Jakarta. Indonesia’s disaster agency warned on Friday that the haze in Riau province on Western Sumatra island would likely exacerbate after satellites detected 346 hot spots across Sumatra, mostly in Riau.
“The forest
and land fires continue to rage until now. The latest development showed that
out of 346 hotspots, 148 were detected in Riau,” spokesman of the National
Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told the Jakarta Globe
on Friday.
The number
is higher than the previous report, which recorded 87 hot spots.
The hot
spots are mostly located in Rokan Hilir village with the number reaching 73 hot
spots, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
“The haze
has also caused the visibility range in several areas disrupted, such as in Pekanbaru,
Pelalawan, Rengat and Dumai,” Sutopo added. “If the provincial government does
not take any preventative measure, this condition would likely worsen. The dry
season in 2014 will make it even worse.”
Sutopo said
the fire mitigation process in the region was conducted poorly, adding that the
provincial government still mostly relies on the central government for help.
“The role
of the Riau government in handling the land and forests fires is still not
optimal. The efforts to reduce and prevent fires in Riau are still very low.
They are still depending on the central [government],” he said. “The Riau
government should by now be able to handle the incident because it is one of
the richest regions.”
Riau
Governor Annas Maamun said this week that his government was keeping a close
eye on the fires in the province.
“We are
really serious in anticipating the fires. However, the officials couldn’t
possibly keep an eye on the forest all night long,” he was quoted as saying by
Tempo.co.
Sutopo said
that hotspots in Riau would continue to appear until November.
“New hot
spots would continue to appear if El Nino occurred this year. The BNPB has
allocated budget up to Rp 355 billion ($3.1 million) to anticipate land and
forest fires across Indonesia,” he said.
Sutopo
attributed the never-ending forest fires in Riau to lack of law enforcement in
the province.
“Many
regulations stipulating environmental control have been issued by both the
central and regional government. However, the problem truly lies in the
implementation,” he said. “Every year, during June to October in Sumatra, more
than 70 percent of the fires happen outside forest areas, which were
intentionally set off by humans. This has a great impact on its surroundings.”
Haze, in
February-April this year alone, has caused Rp 20 trillion in losses. Meanwhile
21,914 hectares of land had been burned, and 58,000 people developed
respiratory ailments and schools were forced to closed, the BNPB said.
Sutopo
received reports from the Riau Police, which said the fires were mostly set off
by owners of private plantations which considered burning as more
cost-efficient as compared to clearing them.
Legal
expert Uli Parulian Sihombing, with the Indonesian Legal Resource Center,
echoed this view, saying that the fires were the result of weak implementation
of regulation and poor supervision from the local government.
“Existing
regulations prove that the government has a good intention to stop the land and
forest fires. However, law enforcement is very low. Although perpetrators have
been arrested for setting off fires, generally they were only actors in the
field while the masterminds who organized the fire are still walking free,” he
said.
Uli said
the government needs to take extraordinary measures because the haze from the
fires is not only affecting Indonesians but also neighboring countries such as
Singapore and Malaysia.
“Besides
Kalimantan and Papua, Riau is the last bastion of Indonesia’s tropical forests.
It has to be protected. There should be extraordinary measures from the
government to stop the forest fires in Riau and other potential areas in
Indonesia,” he said.
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A boat is
seen through haze in Northport Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur June 24,
2014. Local
media reported unhealthy levels of air pollution with an air pollutant
index of 118 in some parts of the country. Indonesia’s disaster agency warned on June 24 that haze could return to Singapore and Malaysia. (Reuters Photo/ Samsul Said) |
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