Even as Indonesian firefighters battle peat fires, new ones are being set
Zubaidah Nazeer Indonesia Correspondent In Riau Province (Sumatra)
Straits Times 6 Jul 13;
THE scene on this plantation is sombre - only charred tree stumps and blackened land are left. In the distance, smoke is rising.
This is land that got razed when fires jumped plantations, says its owner.
It seems no one has bothered to obey an old signboard nearby saying no land-clearing using fire is allowed, listing fines and jail terms.
Indeed, one week after the worst haze in the region in 16 years caused by forest and plantation fires in the Riau province of Sumatra island, firefighters last weekend were still battling peat fires that often continue to burn underground even as the fires above ground are put out.
By yesterday, police had named as a suspect its first company, Malaysian-listed Adei Plantation, in addition to 24 farmers and workers, for illegally clearing land by burning.
But, referring to the arrests of farmers and workers, environment non-governmental organisation (NGO) Greenpeace's Mr Zamzami, who goes by one name, says this does not get to the root of the problem. "If they are workers, we need to know who they are paid by, or are companies negligent in holding up no-burning policies?"
Companies claim they ensure suppliers do not clear land by burning, but people in the community do so anyway and this was evident from this reporter's journey through the region.
During a 13-hour ride from Jambi to Pekanbaru last week, The Straits Times came across several instances of land being burned in open defiance of the intense scrutiny after the haze gained international coverage in mid-June.
A patch of land near Merlung sub-district in Jambi was still smouldering after being torched overnight. In Kerinci, southern Riau, a man with a chainsaw jumped on his motorcycle and sped off when approached after he was seen surveying a charred piece of land.
Last Saturday, on a patrol with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to Rokanhilir regency bordering Dumai city, one of the worst-hit of Riau's regencies, this reporter saw oil palm landowner Nasution (who goes by one name) looking on helplessly as soldiers attempted to snuff out fires on his 40ha plot of land.
"The fire probably jumped from burning land next to my plantation. I called in the soldiers to help me put out the fires because I cannot deal with it," he said.
Culprits are proving elusive.
National Disaster Management Agency chief Syamsul Maarif tells of how, on a helicopter ride to inspect the area, he saw people setting new fires.
"I can see them running, trying to hide. I suspect those carrying out the burning have been instructed to do so," he told The Straits Times.
He has photos showing clearly burning on concession land and has told local authorities to gather the concession owners and get them to account for the fires.
Sawit Watch, an NGO that monitors the palm oil industry, notes that 925 of the 4,810 hot spots between May 13 and June 20, when the haze in the region was peaking, were found on oil palm plantations.
However, major concession owners named by the government and NGOs, including Singapore-based firms Asia Pacific Resources International and Wilmar International, have insisted that they have a zero-burning policy.
Pinning down those responsible is hard given the lack of clear evidence, but some officials say concession owners should be held responsible for any burning on their land.
Said Mr Agus Purnomo, special adviser to the President and head of the National Climate Change Council: "It has to go all the way to the top. If you make money out of it, you are responsible to put out the fire."
Meantime, out in the field, fighting the fires seems an impossible task given the vast area and limited resources. Last Saturday, groups of soldiers were seen fixing small portable pumps over canals to pump water through pipes and hoses to nearby fires. Each soldier goes on an hour-long shift hosing down peat fires.
Their platoon leader told The Straits Times: "We get no farther than 100m each day. Fires move rapidly underground and we often can't see them.
"It is easy to give up hope, but we are trying our best. The rest, we leave it to God."
