Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters Alertnet 18 Jun 09;
June 18 (Reuters) - The brewing El Nino weather pattern is expected to bring an extended dry season to Indonesia this year, intensifying forest fires on the archipelago and raising the prospect of choking smoke blowing across neighbouring states.
As well as being unhealthy, the smog can cause major economic disruption costing the tourism, transport and farming sectors billions of dollars.
WHAT IS IT?
Forest fires are a regular occurrence during the dry season in areas such as Sumatra and Borneo, but the situation has been aggravated in recent decades as timber and plantation firms, as well as farmers, start fires to clear land. The fires in turn cause smoke that because of regional weather patterns often blows into nearby countries, although Indonesia's own most populous island of Java, where the country's capital Jakarta is situated, is generally little affected.
HOW BAD WAS IT?
The worst haze hit in 1997-98, when drought caused by El Nino led to major Indonesian fires. The smoke spread to Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand and cost more than $9 billion in damage to tourism, transport and farming.
More than 9 million hectares of land were burnt, 6.5 million of which were forested areas. The fire produced an estimated 1-2 billion tonnes of carbon.
HOW IS IT THIS YEAR?
Indonesia's Metro TV reported this week that haze had delayed some flights in Sumatra's Pekanbaru. Last week 47 hotspots were recorded in Riau province and temperatures were abnormally high at 35 degrees C (95 F).
WHY IS THE REGION HAZE-PRONE?
Southeast Asia hosts 60 percent of the world's tropical peatlands, mainly in Indonesia. Peat soil is comprised of decomposed plant material that burns relatively easily. Peat fires are hard to suppress as they can smoulder underground and resurface, and produce thick haze and a high amount of carbon.
WHAT IS THE REGION TRYING TO DO?
Spurred on by the 1997-98 fires, Southeast Asian countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, but it has been toothless since parliament in Indonesia, the source of most of the smoke -- has yet to ratify the pact.
The pact calls for signatories to work closely together in monitoring, mitigating and taking preventive measures in combating transboundary haze.
Government agencies in neighbouring countries have from time to time offered to help Indonesia fight the fires -- for example by sending water carrying planes and fire fighters or providing satellite technology to map fires -- but Jakarta has not always accepted the help or has been slow to take it.
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK?
The haze is likely to remain a threat until August at least. If the rainy season begins on time in September that should ease the situation. (Editing by Jerry Norton)
