Riau Considering Malaysia's Offer To Put Out Forest Fires

Bernama 15 Jul 09;

JAKARTA, July 15 (Bernama) - Riau, which is blanketed in haze due to forest fires in 140 areas and 11 sub-districts, is considering Malaysia's offer to put out the fires.

Forestry Department spokesman Said Nurjaya said he received a letter from Malaysia forwarded by the Indonesian Environment Ministry on the note of understanding on cooperation to put out forest and peat soil fires.

"Putting out the fires will help reduce haze," he told Antara news agency in Pekanbaru, Riau on Wednesday.

He said the Indonesian Environment Ministry leave it to Riau's Forestry Department to prepare equipments for the fire fighting job.

Other Indonesian provinces involved in the Malaysia-Indonesia cooperation are Kalimantan Tengah, Aceh and Jambi.

The haze situation in Riau has reached serious stage and strong winds from South-east to North-East may blow the haze to Malaysia dan Singapore.

Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau is covered in heavy haze from forest and peat soil fires.

-- BERNAMA

Malaysia, United States Offer Assistance as Riau Struggles With Fires
Budi Otmansyah The Jakarta Globe 15 Jul 09;

Pekanbaru, Riau. Malaysia and the United States have offered to help Indonesia deal with haze resulting from forest and peatland fires that have plagued Riau, an official said on Wednesday.

“The Malaysian government has offered aid to tackle the smog and forest fires, and we’ve accepted the offer,” said Syaid Nurjaya, the head of the Riau Forestry Agency.

Malaysia’s offer was outlined in a memorandum of understanding that was signed by Masnellyarti Hilman, who oversees environmental damage at the State Ministry for the Environment, and Datuk Suboh Mohammad Yasin, an official from Malaysia’s environment ministry, Syaid said.

“We are studying Malaysia’s offer,” Syaid said. “The environment ministry has left all of the decisions to us.”

Haze caused by forest and peatland fires has forced the authorities in Riau to repeatedly delay flights due to poor visibility.

There have also been reports of a spike in respiratory problems among Riau residents.

Health officials in the province said on Tuesday that up to 44,000 people in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, had sought treatment for respiratory ailments since May.

Syaid said on Tuesday that authorities were planning to drop water from planes next week to combat fires ravaging the province and other parts of Sumatra.

Syaid said that assistance from Malaysia could include fire extinguishers specially designed for forest and peatland fires, as well as a program to train Riau officials in how to prevent forest fires.

“Obviously, the aid will not include the deployment of Malaysian firefighters,” he said. “In 1997, a Malaysian team joined efforts to put out forest fires, but they gave up.”

Indonesia experienced particularly serious forest fires in 1997 that sent a thick layer of haze over large portions of neighboring countries Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

A number of other countries, including the United States, have also expressed interest in helping the country deal with the fires in Riau, Syaid said.

A special US Armed Forces team is scheduled to hold a joint training session on extinguishing peatland fires with Indonesia’s Armed Forces (TNI), he said.

“We’ve asked the Wirabima Military Regiment Command [in Riau] to include Riau firefighters and fire rangers from the Riau Natural Conservation Agency in this training initiative,” Syaid said.

He said the training would serve as a forum for the United States to share its expertise with Indonesia, adding that the Americans were experienced at putting out brush fires.

“This also demonstrates the TNI’s commitment to disaster response,” he said, without saying precisely when the joint training would be held.