Sharp rise in Borneo forest fires within a day

217 hot spots reported, up from 122, as fears grow of haze returning
Straits Times 7 Aug 08;

JAKARTA - FOREST fires in Kalimantan in Borneo have nearly doubled because of land clearing, amid fears that hazy skies could return to the region.

'Our latest data shows that the number of hot spots on Kalimantan island has nearly doubled,' said Mr Israr Albar, a forestry ministry official monitoring the forest fires via satellite.

He said yesterday that 217 hot spots recorded on Borneo were from land clearing in the West Kalimantan province, compared with 122 recorded a day earlier.

He added that the number of hot spots on Sumatra island had decreased slightly to 423 from 557.

There are fears that the number of hot spots in Indonesia could exceed last year's figure because of the current dry season.

Mr Sonny Partono, the director of forest fire control, said: 'According to the meteorology agency, this year's dry season is very dry, not wet like last year. That's the problem.

'Looking at the fluctuation of hot spots, this year could be worse than last year.'

Experts have warned that the haze contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and could have a huge impact on climate change.

A report last year by the World Bank and Britain's Department for International Development said Indonesia was among the world's top three greenhouse gas emitters due to deforestation and forest fires in the country. Forest and land fires accounted for 57 per cent of Indonesia's non-industrial greenhouse gas emissions, it said.

In Malaysia, the state government in Sarawak has stopped all applications to conduct open burning.

State Assistant Minister of Environment Abang Abdul Rauf Abang Zen said the order was issued after the Fire Weather Index (FWI) reached level seven in the central region of Sarawak, as well as in Sri Aman in the southern part of the state.

The FWI is a rating of fire intensity derived from weather parameters such as temperature, rainfall, wind speed and relative humidity.

Under this rating, an FWI of one and below is considered a low fire hazard, two to six a moderate fire hazard, seven to 13 a high fire hazard, and above 13, an extremely high fire hazard.

'With this order, those who had been issued permits to perform open burning have been told to stop this activity for the time being,' Dr Rauf said.

Anyone who defies the ban is liable to a fine of up to RM30,000 (S$12,630) and three years' jail.

He said a total of 51 hot spots had been detected in the state's central region as at 6pm on Tuesday.

Although the Air Pollutant Index in major places in the state was still between good and moderate, Dr Rauf said the concern now was on the wind direction in the next few days as that could lead to transboundary haze.

He said a south-westerly wind, which has been forecast in the state over the next few days, might bring the haze from Kalimantan.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BERNAMA