Haze chokes Sumatra once again

Smoke worry resurfaces as 'hot spots' return
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Straits Times 12 Jun 09;

JAKARTA: - The dreaded haze has returned to parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, despite efforts by Indonesia to curb the use of slash-and-burn methods to clear land for planting.

Smoke from forest fires in Sumatra has reached the coastal province of Riau, but not the Riau Islands province off the coast of Singapore.

The past two weeks have seen a rise in the number of patients at local clinics complaining of haze-related ailments such as respiratory problems and sore eyes.

Visibility in the Riau city of Dumai dropped to a low of 30m yesterday, forcing motorists to turn on their headlights even at midday. However, a downpour yesterday evening offered some respite and more rain is expected.

'We are likely to see occasional, localised rains in the Sumatra area until next week or so,' Mr Kuku Ribudianto, a spokesman for the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) in Jakarta, told Elshinta Radio.

Nevertheless, the haze is likely to remain a threat until August at least. The rainy season usually begins in September.

Despite a ban on open burning, some farmers in Sumatra and Kalimantan are still clearing land by cutting down vegetation and burning it.

But Indonesia has insisted that its efforts to stop such practices - and thus the haze - are paying off.

Mr Nur Alim, a spokesman for BMKG in Pekanbaru, Riau, told The Straits Times: 'We are seeing fewer cases as the government has stepped up campaigns against illegal burning. Farmers have been told it's a crime and they can be thrown in jail.'

Those caught and convicted of illegal burning face up to 15 years in jail.

On Wednesday, there were 76 hot spots in Sumatra, according to Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA), and 15 in Riau. At the same time last year, there were about 100 hot spots in Riau alone.

NEA did not rule out the possibility that the haze would affect Singapore. In a statement, it said the likelihood would depend on factors such as the location and intensity of the hot spots, the amount of rain and the prevailing wind direction.

An NEA spokesman said the agency would monitor the situation closely. It will alert the public if conditions deteriorate and 'there is a likelihood that we will be affected by smoke haze'.

The region has been hit by haze almost every year since 1997. That year, fires set to clear land in Indonesia and East Malaysia burned out of control, fuelled by the El Nino weather phenomenon. The ensuing smoke blanketed much of South-east Asia in a choking haze.

There are concerns that a similar problem could arise this year. The Climate Prediction Centre in the United States said this month that an El Nino pattern, which can produce chaotic conditions that result in droughts and floods, could develop within weeks.

However, Mr Alfi Fahmi, who heads a unit in charge of environmental damage at Indonesia's environment ministry, ruled out a repeat of the 1997-98 situation.

'Plantation companies haven't dared (to illegally burn land or forests) since we stepped up our law enforcement,' he said. 'Those still doing it are local farmers who don't own land or who have very small properties.'