Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post, Jambi
Fires continue to send a choking haze over Jambi as individuals and companies burn land to open up new areas in the province for farms and plantations.
A satellite operated by the North Oceanic Atmospheric Administration detected 232 fire ""hot spots"" in the province as of Monday.
The largest number of hot spots were detected in Tebo regency with 69, followed by Batanghari regency with 40, Bungo regency with 33, West Tanjungjabung with 32, Sarolangun with 30 and Merangin with 28 hot spots.
The fires are sending a thick haze over the province, causing health problems and limiting visibility to less than a kilometer.
Most of these fires are not new, having been detected the previous month by the same satellite.
According to the information, the majority of the hot spots are located on land owned by local farmers. However, many of the fires have spread to forests located near the farms.
Three hot spots have been recorded in the protected Bukit Duabelas National Park.
Provincial authorities are currently investigating four companies allegedly involved in setting fires to clear land. All four are developing palm oil plantations in Muarojambi and Batanghari regencies.
Jambi Governor Zulkifli Nurdin said if the companies were found to have intentionally set fires, their licenses would be revoked.
Aerial monitoring has found several hot spots in the four companies' plantation areas. ""It's impossible that local residents did this,"" Zulkifli said.
The governor also said he had set up a special investigative team that was cooperating with local police to deal with Jambi's forest fire problem.
Meanwhile, Jambi Police chief Brig. Gen. Carel Risakotta announced Monday that 12 people had been named as suspects for setting fires in the province. Police had earlier named five suspects.
""The suspects are currently being questioned,"" he said.
