Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 09/04/2009 1:25 PM
Fires have continued to rage through thousands of hectares of forest across Kalimantan over the last two weeks, causing air pollution and prompting the repeated closure of airports, especially in Central and South Kalimantan.
The government said the cloud-seeding techniques applied by the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) had failed to stop the forest fires.
"The fires have occurred at alarming levels at a time when the number of hot spots remains high," forest and land destruction deputy assistant at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, Heddy Mukna, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Senior officials from several departments in Jakarta are scheduled to hold an "urgent" meeting in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan on Friday to discuss moves to fight the fires.
Environment minister, Rachmat Witoelar, visited Palangkaraya last week to inspect the fires and distribute water pumps.
Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang has revoked a bylaw that permitted local residents to use open burning on plots of land less than 2 hectares.
Teras said he had discovered several fires lit by plantation companies for land clearing purposes.
Teras has also threatened to revoke the business permits of dozens of plantation owners in the province if they continue to light fires to clear land.
"However, despite the warning, the number of hot spots continues to rise in Kalimantan," he said.
Smoky conditions are hazardous for young children, the elderly and individuals with heart problems or chronic lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory conditions.
Palangkaraya Health Office found that 145 people had suffered from lung disease due to thick haze in July.
Data from the Forestry Ministry reveals that over the last three days, fires were discovered in more than 570 hectares of land in Palangkaraya, of which about 447 hectares belong to local residents.
"The fires only raged in 6 hectares of forest. As most of the fires are located outside the forest, it is the responsibility of the local administration to fight them," the ministry's spokesman Masyud told the Post.
Kalimantan, Riau, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, Jambi and South Sulawesi are the areas most prone to forest fires in the country.
Several weeks ago huge fires were also found in Riau and Jambi.
Experts say the annual haze problem in Central Kalimantan indicated a lack of government will to handle the disaster.
"The government should have conducted preventive measures rather than dealing with the haze problem after it occurred," said Akhmat Sajarwan, a land expert from Palangkaraya University.
