One Dead as Indonesia Battles Haze

Camelia Pasandaran & Diska Putri Pamungkas Jakarta Globe 20 Jun 13;

The Indonesian government admitted on Wednesday that fires in at least 22 locations across Sumatra’s Riau province were responsible for the haze affecting local residents as well as neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

Ahmad Saerozi, the head of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), told the Jakarta Globe that the fires were spreading rapidly over more than 800 hectares of plantation land.

“The smoke from the fire has reached Hang Nadim Airport [in Batam, Riau Islands] and also covers some parts of Singapore and Malaysia,” he said.

“We’ve been fighting the fires for 10 days, but they are moving from plantation to plantation. In the beginning, only around 200 hectares were affected.”

The worst location is a swath of more than 500 hectares located near Arara Abadi, an oil palm company owned by the Sinarmas Group in Bengkalis district, Riau.

The company, which claims to be innocent of any wrongdoing, has assigned six teams to work with government officials to prevent the fire spreading into its own plantation land.

In Rokan Hilir district on Riau’s east coast, fires swept through more than 200 hectares of land, while smaller plantations in Kampar district and Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, were also reportedly hit.

The BKSDA has assigned 14 teams to handle fires in 22 locations but is struggling to keep a lid on the outbreaks.

“They’re running from one location to another and it’s now beyond our ability to extinguish them,” Saerozi said. “The only possible way is with artificial rain.”

Raffles Panjaitan, the director of forestry investigations and observation at the Forestry Ministry, told the Globe that the government would coordinate with the National Disaster and Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on taming the fires.

“We’ve just had a meeting at the Foreign Ministry and agreed to create artificial rain with the BNPB,” he said.

“It’s difficult to douse the fires with ordinary methods because they’re not ground fires, but underground fires in peatland. So it should be extinguished with artificial rain.’’

Fire victims

The fires claimed a life in Rokan Hilir after a husband and wife were caught in a fire there, with the man later dying of burns.

“The husband did not survive the burn injuries he sustained, while the wife is in critical condition in a hospital in Rokan Hilir,” Saerozi said.

The smog is also posing problems for residents with latent health problems, causing one local heath agency to issue a public warning on Wednesday.

“The air quality in the city of Dumai is worsening to alarming levels, with air pollution at 293,” Marjoko Santoso, the head of the municipal health agency, said as quoted by Antaranews.com, referring to the Pollutant Standards Index. Any figure above 100 is considered unhealthy.

Marjoko said his agency had distributed 25,000 masks to residents to prevent respiratory infection and suggested people drink plenty of water.

He also suggested that people reduce their outdoor activities.

In Singapore, the haze has been choking residents with PSI readings reaching 155 on Monday night before peaking at 321 at 10 p.m., breaking the September 1997 record for the worst air quality.

Jeremy Koh, a producer with Mediacorp who lives in central Singapore, told the Globe that the haze was worst in the southern part of the island.

“It’s not terrible [in the central part], but you can tell the air quality is definitely not good because there’s a burnt smell in the air, and even the canteen at my workplace, which is air-conditioned, looks smoky,” Jeremy said.

“At this point in time, I’m more concerned about the heat than the haze, as temperatures have been consistently above 30 degrees for the past week, so that’s definitely more unbearable than the haze.”

He added that people were complaining about the haze on social media and the mainstream media.

“Some are saying that they’ve gotten asthma attacks because of the haze, others are complaining of teary eyes, coughs, etc,” he said.

“In the media, there have been calls on Indonesia to do something to stop the burning in Sumatra. There’s a bit of Indonesia bashing going on. People think Indonesia is not pulling its weight.”

Although people who wore masks got funny stares from others, sales of masks have apparently gone up, he said.

People are trying to stay indoors as much as they can and the military has reportedly cut down on outdoor activities.

Budi Jacobus, who lives on Fort Road in Singapore, told the Globe the haze had caused him to cough badly.

“I’ve run out masks and am using a handkerchief, thanks to Indonesia,” he said.

“If Indonesia sent us money, it would be a blessing, but sending us smoke only makes us suffer. Being a good neighbor, Indonesia should send good things instead of haze, which makes us ill.”

Budi said the air quality situation was worse in the evening, with electronic media announcing that the air pollution index had reached 170.

“As it has been higher than 150, the safety limit, students are sent home and schools are temporarily closed,” Budi said.

“People in my office were all upset about the haze as it happens every year. I heard the Singaporean government will offer to help the Indonesian government to extinguish the fire.”

Indonesia’s response

Singapore’s top officials have contacted their Indonesian counterparts to complain about the haze.

Singapore’s minister for foreign affairs and law, K. Shanmugam, reportedly called Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, while the minister for environment and water resources called his counterpart in Jakarta to raise the matter.

The Singaporean government has accused plantation companies of illegal forest burning.

In a release sent by the Singaporean Embassy and obtained by the Jakarta Globe on Saturday, they asked the Indonesian government to name the companies responsible for the fires.

Marty said the Indonesian government’s response regarding the haze was led by the office of the coordinating ministry for people’s welfare working in tandem with local governments.

“We have been and will continue to communicate with the Singaporean authorities,” he said at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Marty said that both governments were aware that Indonesian officials were now working to put the fires out, adding that neighboring countries had given full support to those efforts.

“Indonesia’s first priority is to put the haze out while maintaining communication with neighboring countries,” he said.

The minister said that the government was also conducting an investigation to bring the perpetrators behind the forest fires to justice.

Marty said Indonesian officials and their Singaporean counterparts would hold a technical meeting on Thursday to discuss ways of putting the fires out.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has an agreement regarding haze pollution signed in 2002, but Indonesia and the Philippines have not ratified it.

Marty said that in order to ratify international agreements, the government had to observe legal process by passing bills through the House of Representatives.

“The process is still ongoing,” he said.

However, the minister said he was confident that with or without the ratification of the agreement, Indonesia was fully committed to solving the haze problem, and working hand in hand with other Asean countries to address the root causes of the annual fires.

Pekanbaru`s airport shut down due to thick haze
Antara 20 Jun 13;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Airport in Pekanbaru was shut down temporarily, from 8 to 9 am local time, due to thick smog haze coming from forest fires.

"The visibility was 2,000 meters at 5 am. But it decreased to 1,500 meters at 6 am," Ibnu Hasan, the airport`s duty manager, said here on Thursday.

He said at 7 am the visibility worsened as it dropped to 1,000 meters. At 8 the management was forced to stop all flights as the visibility reduced further to 800 meters.

"Several flights from airlines such as Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air and Air Asia were diverted to other airports near Riau. Garuda and Lion diverted their planes to Medan Airport and Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia," he said.

According to him, the airport closure was the first time being occurred in SSK II.

"The airport was opened again at 9 am after the air condition became normal," he said.

Thick smoke has covered several places near Riau as forest fires has hit the province since the past week. The fires have disturbed several public activities.

The forest fires and its cross-border haze triggered some protests from neighboring countries - Malaysia and Singapore.

However, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Marty Natalegawa said the haze problem should be handled collectively by all of parties, instead of blaming each other.

"Fires and haze have occurred in several countries not only in Indonesia. In the past, the United States and Australia also faced similar problems like in our country," he said.

He called for cooperation among countries and peoples to help put out the fires.

According to the Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI)`s data, land and forest fires in Riau had regularly occurred since 1997. Many perpetrators cleared forest area for industrial plantations.

Editor: Suryanto

When haze attacks three countries, cooperation needed
Antara 21 Jun 13;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Haze knows no border. In this current dry season with extreme hot weather, Sumatra is being hit by forest, peatland and plantation fires producing smog haze that has been affecting not only the island, but also Malaysia and Singapore.

Almost every year forest fires hit several Indonesian islands, particularly Sumatra and Kalimantan. Some of them were deliberately set to clear land for cultivation and some are triggered by natural factors such as extreme drought that could induce hot spots in peatland.

But this year, the disaster is among the worst, forcing some districts and cities in Riau Province to declare a state of emergency.

The NOAA-15 satellite detected 234 hot spots across Sumatra, particularly in Riau, Jambi and North Sumatra Provinces on June 29. Meanwhile, the local meteorological, climatology an geophysics agency (BMKG) indicated around 1,403 hot spots across Sumatra.

Around 850 hectares of peatland areas were gutted by fires, but at least 460 hectares were put out by Indonesian fire brigade teams. According to recent reports, one person was killed and another was injured due to the disaster.

In Rokan Hilir District, Riau Province, 164 people fled Kepenghuluan Bangko Bakti village which has been blanketed by thick haze. Villagers of neighboring Kepenghuluan Teluk Bano are also preparing themselves for evacuation to emergency tents away from their village.

"Based on our monitoring, a huge fire is raging in Bangko Pusako Sub District. Efforts to extinguish the fire have been going on by involving volunteers," Head of the Rokan Hilir Environmental Assessment Unit Zulkarnaen said.

He said the fire brigade team has been working extremely hard but it was not easy to put out the fire. "I hope rains to fall very soon to help extinguish the blaze," he added.

Several flights were postponed or cancelled and Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau Island, was shut down temporarily due to the haze on June 20.

Thousands of face masks have been distributed to Sumatran people who have complained of respiratory problem and eye irritation because of the haze.

The smoky haze from Sumatra has also affected Indonesia`s neighboring countries. Singapore has urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution, while Malaysia has closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some areas.

The Pollutant Standards Index, Singapore`s main measure for air pollution, surged to a record reading of 371, breaching the "hazardous" classification that can aggravate respiratory ailments. The previous all-time high before this week was in 1997, when the index reached 226.

"This is now the worst haze that Singapore has ever faced," Singapore`s Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan wrote on his Facebook page.

Singapore alerted Indonesia on the situation "and urged the Indonesian authorities to look into urgent measures to mitigate the transboundary haze occurrence".

In Malaysia, The Department of Environment (DoE) reported that Muar, Johor was the worst affected by the haze, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at 383 on June 20, forcing the temporary closure of 211 schools in the district.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on his Facebook page: "The haze situation in Malaysia is going to worsen in the coming days with winds carrying smoke from hot spots in Sumatra. "Please reduce outdoor activity and drink a lot of water during this period. Health should remain a number one priority for everyone."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who had been contacted by his Singaporean counterpart concerning the haze, said in a press conference on June 19, 2013 that the way forward and out of the haze situation is to work together to solve the issue.

"The approach must be one of collaboration and partnership, not one of apportioning blame here and there. Let`s focus on putting the fires out," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

Indonesian Environmental Affairs Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said that his side was trying to put out fires on peatland and considering to use artificial rain to extinguish fire hot spots in three-to-four-meter deep peatland.

But it seems that Indonesia does not have to battle the fires alone as Singapore and Malaysia have reportedly offered their help.

Singapore`s Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan conveyed the offer to assist Indonesia, Simon Soekarno of the Indonesian embassy`s information department, in Singapore told Antara on June 20.

The details of the assistance, however, were not known yet. The Indonesian government welcomed any assistance to control the fires, he added.

"It has become our common concern, not only Singapore. The Indonesian government will not stay idle," the diplomat said.

The CEO of Singapore`s National Environment Agency was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting with officials from the Indonesian environmental and foreign affairs ministries on June 20 to discuss about the haze problem. "They might discuss about the details of assistance being offered by Singapore," he said.

Bernama news agency reported that Malaysia is willing to offer assistance to Indonesia in addressing open burning in Sumatra. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said the offer was not the first made by this country as similar offers had been made.

"We always want to help Indonesia and is willing to send our fire brigade to put out fires as we did before. We already talked about this to them but no response was received," he told reporters on June 20, 2013.

The Malaysian firemen were deployed to Sumatra to fight off the forest fire in 1997. Over 1,000 firefighters were deployed to Indonesia under Operation Haze. When similar situation occurred in 2005, the air forces of Malaysia and Singapore joined hand with their Indonesian counterpart to conduct a coordinated cloud seeding operations.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono said investigations were under way to find out which companies were responsible for the haze.

"There are Indonesian, Singaporean and Malaysian companies there," he said.

Singapore earlier reportedly urged Indonesia to provide data on companies and concession maps to enable it to act against plantation firms that allow slash-and-burn farming.

Separately, the Indonesian forestry ministry`s Secretary General Hadi Daryanto expressed the ministry`s readiness to partner Singapore to trace the firms behind the fires in Riau.

"We are keen to join with neighboring countries to identify the perpetrators; and the sanctions imposed will be imprisonment, fines and permit revocations," Hadi said.

As a number of companies operating in the area are from Singapore and Malaysia, the two countries also need to cooperate in helping them track down and prevent future blazes, he added.

Rahidi, the head of the Riau forestry ministry`s forest fire section, said fires hitting Riau Province started partly in plantations owned by Malaysia`s companies.

Based on the NOAA satellite`s monitoring, the hot spots occurred among other things in PT Langgam Inti Hibrida owned by Malaysian company and located in Sering, Pelalawan District.

Several other hot spots were located in two plantations which are owned by PT Bumi Reksa Nusa Sejati of Malaysia and located in Simpang Kateman, Pelagiran Sub District and Bente, Mandah Sub District, Indragiri Hilir.

He said a number of hot spots also came from Malaysia`s companies operating in the province such as PT Tunggal Mitra Plantation, PT Udaya Loh Dinawi, PT Abdi Plantation, PT Jati Jaya Perkasa, PT Multi Gambut Industry, PT Bumi Reksa Nusa Sejati and PT Mustika Agro Lestari.

Fires also occurred in an industrial forest area owned by PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) which is partly owned by a foreign company, he added.

Meanwhile, Indonesia`s Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has set aside Rp25 billion (around 2.5 million US Dollar) to make artificial rain over forest fires in Riau Province.

Head of Data and Information Center of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said BNPB in cooperation with the Application and Assessment of Technology Agency (BPPT) will make the artificial rain over the forest fires.

He said the NOAA-18 satellite on June 18 detected 148 hotspots over Riau Province, 26 over Jambi, 22 over West Sumatra, six over South Sulawesi and five hotspots over West Sumatra.

The satellite also detected some hotspots over neighboring countries such as Malaysia with eight hotspots and 29 hotspots spread over Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. There were also 17 hotspots over Myanmar.

As many as 105 personnel have been deployed in fire-hit areas and they have managed to extinguish over 650 hectares of the peatland fires, he stated.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 20, 2013, ordered all ministries and relevant institutions to put out forest fires in Sumatra within one month maximally.

"The President has given us directives that hot spots and haze in Sumatra should be dealt with immediately," Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa told a press conference after a cabinet ministers` plenary meeting. (*)

Editor: Heru