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Land, forest fires put humans, endangered animals at risk
Despite the improving air quality in several cities in Sumatra on Friday, land and forest fires have continued to create problems in many parts of the country, putting local residents and ecosystems at risk
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espite the improving air quality in several cities in Sumatra on Friday, land and forest fires have continued to create problems in many parts of the country, putting local residents and ecosystems at risk.
In East Kalimantan, fires have reportedly burned over 200 hectares of the Samboja Lestari orangutan sanctuary since Wednesday.
Located some 50 kilometers north of Balikpapan, the 1,852-ha facility, managed by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), currently accommodates 209 orangutans and 47 honey bears in its rehabilitation and reintroduction programs.
'What we are concerned most about is that the smoke [from the fires] will cause our staff and orangutans to suffer from diseases,' BOSF's spokesperson Nico Hermanu said on Friday.
Meanwhile In South Sulawesi, fires in Bengo village, Kimapoccoe subdistrict, Cenrana district, Maros regency, razed 50 ha of Hasanuddin University's educational forest and 50 ha of neighboring forest that is part of the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park.
'Fortunately, we managed to put out the fire so that it did not expand to the residential complex located only 500 meters from the burned site,' Maros Regency Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Suyuti said on Friday.
In North Sumatra, all airports in the province were declared free of haze on Friday after struggling with poor visibility for the past several weeks.
Meanwhile, in neighboring West Sumatra, the intensity of haze significantly dropped following downpours in most parts of the province.
'Looking at the present conditions, we are optimistic that the air quality in West Sumatra will continue to improve as the haze is better handled in its place of origin,' said acting head of West Sumatra provincial BPBD, Zulfiatno.
However, Riau, the country's largest oil-producing region, was still struggling with poor visibility on Friday.
'The visibility in Rengat, Indragiri Hulu [regency], is 100 meters, Pelalawan [regency] is 200 meters, Dumai municipality is 1,500 meters and Pekanbaru municipality is 4,000 meters,' Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency's (BMKG) Pekanbaru station head Sugarin said.
BMKG Pekanbaru also reported that 1,465 hot spots had surrounded Sumatra on Friday, an increase from 1,025 the previous day.
'Of the 1,465 hot spots detected, 1,296 are in South Sumatra,' Sugarin said.
Riau, along with Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Jambi and South Sumatra, are among the provinces hardest hit by the air pollution originating from fires in peatland and plantations.
The ongoing haze crisis has been exacerbated by this year's prolonged dry season triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
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Apriadi Gunawan in Medan and Syofiardi Bachyul Jb in Padang contributed to this article.
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