Antara 28 Jun 13;
Tanjung, South Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - A satellite of the National oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has detected three hot spots from forest fires in Tabalong District, South Kalimantan Province, since early June 2013.
The hot spots were detected in Lano Village (Jaro Sub District), Maburai Village (Murung Pudak Sub District), and Santuun Village (Muara Uya Sub District), Yandi Sa`ban, a forest ranger of the Tabalong forestry service, said here on Friday.
The number of hot spots was smaller than that in the previous year because rains have fallen in Tabalong this June.
Tabalong has 230,000 hectares of forests including protected forest, industrial forest and conservation forest.
In East Barito District, Central Kalimantan, two hot spots were detected recently. (*)
Editor: Heru
Indonesia allocates Rp100 billion to overcome forest fires
Antara 28 Jun 13;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A total of Rp100 billion has been allocated for making rain, procuring materials and providing planes to conduct water bombing to fight forest and land fires in Riau province, a senior Indonesian minister said.
"The government would lease planes from Korea and Russia that are able to carry 4,000 to 5,000 liters of water for water bombing operations," Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono said after a coordination meeting to discuss the problem here on Thursday.
The meeting at the Forestry Ministry was attended by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono, Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya, Deputy Foreign Minister Wardana, officials from the police force, the Attorney General Office, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the National Development Planning Board (Bappnenas), the Agency for Technology Assessment and Application (BPPT), the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan), the Ministry of Research and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and from Jambi, South Sumatra and South Kalimantan provincial administrations.
Agung said the meeting did not only discuss fires in Riau but also anticipatory measures in eight other provinces.
On offers of assistance from Malaysia and Singapore to fight the fires the minister said that they were not yet needed as the government was still able to overcome them with support from all parties at home.
He said the government would even encourage private parties at home to participate in the efforts.
Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan meanwhile said 14 people were currently being questioned with regard to the fires consisting of 11 persons from plantation companies and three from local communities.
"If proven guilty they could be jailed for five years and have their permits revoked," he said.
He said the government is now still focusing on fighting the fires and is expecting support from all parties.
"We need support from all parties and all companies must protect their forests from fires," he said.
He said the handling of the fires had been taken over the central government as they have been considered a national problem.
He said BPPT has successfully made rain in Riau while water bombing has also been carried out involving six helicopters and more that will come this week to extinguish the fires. (*)
Editor: Heru
Thousands of soldiers deployed to fight fires
Fazar Muhardi Antara 27 Jun 13;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Thousands of soldiers have been sent to fight remaining forest and land fires in six locations in Riau province.
"Based on satellite monitoring at around 4pm on Wednesday six fires were still seen and have the potential to cause haze in several regions and they would be immediately put out. Forces have been sent to the locations," the commander of the task force dealing with Riau haze disaster, Brigadier General Teguh Rahardjo, said to Antara here on Thursday.
Teguh, who is also the chief of the 031/Wirabima Military Resort, said the fires based on NOAA satellite monitoring were found in Dumai, Bengkalis and Pelalawan districts.
"There are three fires in Dumai, two in Bengkalis and one in Pelalawan," he said.
Earlier, the Indonesian military (TNI) had deployed 1,400 personnel to overcome haze problem caused by peat land fires in Riau.
TNI Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono had also ordered the deployment of TNI experts to help tackle the problem.
The 1,400 TNI members deployed to fight fires in the province came from army special unit Kopassus, Marine Corps and army reserve command Kostrad.
Teguh said in addition to thousands of military forces from Jakarta all forces in the region had also been ordered to participate in the fire fighting efforts.
"The army personnel have worked maximally and successfully put out fires in several areas," he said.
He said the number of hotspots in Riau had dropped significantly after quite heavy rains fell in several areas.
According to the Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency (BMKG) station in Pekanbaru, the number of fires in Riau reached 263 but later dropped to 84 on Tuesday and six later on Wednesday.
(KR_FZR/H-YH/S012)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Jakarta to step up water bombing
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta
Straits Times 28 Jun 13;
INDONESIA plans to step up its efforts to contain the haze with larger scale water-bombing operations, said the top official overseeing the disaster response effort.
"We will do water-bombing on a bigger scale. Hopefully, we can start in one week's time," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono told reporters yesterday.
Indonesia will rent Russian Kamov helicopters with belly tanks that can drop more water than those in use now, forestry official Sonny Partono added.
A Kamov helicopter can carry some 8,000 litres of water, compared to just 500 litres by the helicopters being used in Riau.
The haze situation has improved in recent days following cloud-seeding and water-bombing efforts by disaster response teams in Riau province.
But the government plans to step up operations amid concerns that the haze may return.
Enforcement action has also gathered pace.
Yesterday, police said 16 people had been named suspects in land-clearing fires in Riau. Investigators have also been gathering evidence against the eight companies that Indonesia says are responsible for setting the fires.
Meanwhile, a group of consumer goods giants meeting in Jakarta yesterday sought to pressure Indonesian suppliers of palm oil and pulp and paper products into making sure that sustainable practices are enforced down their supply chains.
The first meeting of the Tropical Forest Alliance brought together companies, civil society groups and officials aiming to end deforestation by key industries by 2020.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who opened the meeting, said the practice of land-clearing which causes the haze remains a challenge.
"Companies have to ensure compliance which is enforced to the lowest level of operations on the ground," he said.
Additional reporting by Zakir Hussain in Jakarta
