Indonesia: Riau Haze Back Again as Dry Season Sets In

Jakarta Globe 6 Feb 14;

Jakarta. Heavy smog has been reported in the provinces of Riau, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan from suspected slash-and-burn forest clearing, reviving the specter of the diplomatic row sparked by the same problem last year.

Tri Budiarto, the deputy for disaster management at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said in Jakarta on Wednesday that those regions had for the past two weeks been experiencing a dry spell, while the rest of the country was hit by torrential rains causing widespread flooding.

“What we’re seeing in Riau, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan is local weather that’s different from the general weather across the country,” he said.

“Elsewhere it’s raining, but there it’s already dry.”

The extended spell of days with no heavy rain is believed to have encouraged residents to begin clearing land for farming, Tri said, with most setting forest fires as the easiest means of doing this.

The BNPB has recorded haze from forest fires in the Riau districts of Bengkalis and Meranti and the town of Dumai, as well as in the Central Kalimantan district of Pontianak and two other districts in Central Kalimantan.

“We’ve notified the local offices of the BNPB in all three provinces, and they’ve begun observing the spread of the fires and the haze,” Tri said.

He said the provincial disaster mitigation agencies, or BPBD, were working with other local authorities to stop the spread of the fires and to be on the alert for fires burning out of control.

Forest fires in Riau last June generated immense amounts of smoke that drifted across the Malacca Strait, shrouding Singapore and parts of Malaysia and Thailand for several days, and sending air pollution indexes there to record highs.

The conditions prompted officials from Singapore and Indonesia to trade diplomatic blows over who was responsible for the thick smog covering much of the region. Singapore criticized Jakarta for failing to curb the annual fires, while Indonesian officials alleged that the plantation companies accused of setting the fires were registered in Singapore and Malaysia.

At the time, several individuals were named suspects by the police for setting some of the fires, but no prosecutions have taken place.

In Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province, officials recorded 61 fire hot spots as of Sunday, following a week of heavy smog.

The local office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the most hot spots, each indicating a major fire, were in Bengkalis district, which had 29, followed by Siak district, Indragiri Hilir (nine), Pelalawan (eight), and Rokan Hilir with three hot spots.

The number of hot spots is expected to increase, with the BMKG saying the rainy season had effectively ended in Riau.

Officials at Pekanbaru’s Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport said visibility was down as a result of the haze, but not to the point that flights would have to be grounded or redirected to other airports.

However, in Pontianak, the West Kalimantan capital, heavy smog prompted officials at the city’s Supadio Airport to ground seven flights on Wednesday morning because of poor visibility.

Chandra Dista Wiradi, the airport’s general manager, told Tribunnews.com that flights scheduled to take off in early the morning had to be delayed for two hours until the haze lifted somewhat.

He said 700 passengers were affected by the delay.

The local office of the BMKG has recorded 55 hot spots in neighboring Kubu Raya district.

Indonesia: Haze back in Riau as farmers slash and burn
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, The Straits Times/ANN, Jakarta Post 6 Feb 14;

An unusual dry spell in Riau over the past fortnight has seen farmers taking the opportunity to start fires to clear land, creating haze over the city of Dumai and elsewhere in the Indonesian province second-closest to Singapore.

Dumai was at the epicentre of the worst haze in the region in years last June, when air pollutant levels hit record highs in nearby Singapore and Malaysia.

On Wednesday morning, more intense haze was reported in West Kalimantan, and flights at Pontianak's Supadio airport were disrupted for several hours due to low visibility.

The new Riau fires suggest that the root cause of last year's severe transboundary haze has yet to be resolved, even as officials step up action against offenders.

Open burning is against Indonesian law but the law is widely flouted.

"Farmers used the two weeks without rain to carry out slash- and-burn," Tri Budiarto, the National Disaster Management Agency's deputy for emergency management, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"We are closely monitoring the situation in these areas."

So far, Singapore has been spared, but experienced slightly hazy conditions Wednesday morning, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement.

With the northeast monsoon prevailing, the likelihood that Singapore will be affected by the haze is low, said an NEA spokesman.

The air pollutant index in Dumai, some 270km north-west of Singapore, fell from 186 on Tuesday morning to 89 on Wednesday. A reading above 100 is deemed unhealthy.

The Bengkalis and Meranti Islands districts, south-east of Dumai, also saw haze from burning peatland. The area has many oil palm plantations.

This is usually Indonesia's rainy season, which tends to last till March.

But Riau and West and Central Kalimantan are instead seeing raging fires even as disaster workers tackle floods across Java.

The local authorities in Riau and affected areas of Kalimantan have appealed to residents to wear a mask outdoors.

Dumai residents such as Rahimi, who is in her 30s, fear a repeat of last year's severe haze, when many people suffered respiratory infections.

"We are worried this haze will spread and stay like it did last year," she said.

Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency head Said Saqlul Amri said that a recent drop in hot spots detected by satellite was likely to be momentary as the hot weather looked set to continue - a point also made by weather forecasters in Pontianak.

The Jakarta Post reported that, apart from forests and farms, seven hot spots were spotted in oil palm plantations and forest concessions.

Air quality drops, health at risk
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post Pekanbaru 5 Feb 14;

Residents living in a number of regions in Riau province have been reminded of the dangers of inhaling haze from forest and peat fires, which has caused air quality to drop.

In Dumai city, the quality of air on Tuesday was categorized as unhealthy and sunlight was obstructed by the haze. Based on the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), the air quality touched 186 PSI in the morning.

“Air pollution exceeded the normal tolerable level, which is 100 PSI,” Dumai Health Office head Marjoko Santoso said.

On Monday, nearly 7 hectares of the Wisata Dumai forest conservation area was razed by fire.

“Residents should be more careful when engaged in outdoor activities and if they have to be outdoors, wear a mask,” said Marjoko.

“Besides respiratory issues, the haze and dust can also cause eye irritation. Residents must wear a mask and something to cover their heads, such as a helmet, when outdoors,” he added.

In Siak regency, the local health office has been distributing masks to motorists traveling on main roads so as to minimize the impacts of the haze. Office head Tony Candra urged residents, especially parents with toddlers, to cease outdoor activities.

Separately, Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Said Saqlul Amri said the latest satellite images showed there were 62 hot spots in Riau stood, compared to the previous count of 93. The majority were in Meranti Islands, followed by Bengkalis and Pelalawan.

“The drop is most likely momentary, as Riau is still experiencing hot weather,” he said.

Besides hot spots detected in forests and on farms, seven hot spots were spotted in oil palm plantations owned by five major private companies. In the concession areas of Industrial Forests (HTI), 16 hot spots were seen, while four others were found in production forest concessions (HPH).

“All companies have been asked to tackle the fires in their respective concessions. According to law, firefighting and anticipation is the companies’ responsibility,” said Amri.

“All plantation and forestry companies are required to have their own firefighting teams. In the event of fire, they must be prepared to extinguish the fire,” he added.