Indonesia: Satellite detects 1,046 hotspots from forest fires in Sumatra

Antara 1 Mar 14;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The Terra and Aqua satellite has detected 1,046 hotspots from forest, plantation and peatland fires across Sumatra Island, it was reported Saturday morning.

"Of the total number, 963 were found in Riau Province. The number is significantly up from those on the previous day," Sugarin, the head of the Pekanbaru meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency, said here on Saturday.

The NOAA 18 satellite, however, detected only 138 hotspots across Sumatra on Friday, including 70 in Riau province, according to the Riau disaster mitigation office (BPBD).

During February 2014, the NOAA 8 satellite revealed 2,208 hotspots on Sumatra Island, including 1,272 in Riau Province.

In Riau, hotspots were found in Bengkalis (312), Pelalawan (198 titik), Dumai (174), Siak (147), Indragiri Hilir (130), Rokan Hilir (110), Meranti (91), Kampar (49), Indragiri Hulu (29), and Kuantan Singingi (16).

Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsul Maarif stated that some 99 percent of forest and plantation fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan were deliberately set.

"There should be sanctions to stop recurrences. Slash-and-burn farming methods exist in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but the most important thing is that they should be controlled," Maarif noted in a statement on Feb. 28.

According to Maarif, the Indonesian police have named 23 suspects in Riau and 16 in Central Kalimantan, who allegedly set the fires.

"There are several factors behind their decision to set fires in plantation and forest areas, such as economic, social and cultural factors," he explained.

The hotspots were also detected in other districts of Riau, including Indragiri Hulu (29), and Rokan Hulu (14), as well as Riaus capital of Pekanbaru (two).

On February 28, the Riau provincial police announced that 40 individuals have been named as suspects in forest and plantations fires in several districts and cities.

"All of them have been detained, after being identified as suspects, for allegedly setting fires during the past several weeks," said Senior Commissioner Estuning of the Riau police plantation fire task force.

The suspects were all individuals, she added. "The cases allegedly involving companies are still under investigation," she pointed out.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Fires scorch 6,000 hectares of land, forests in Riau
Antara 1 Mar 14;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Six thousand hectares of land and forests were destroyed by fire in Riau province, according to a disaster mitigation agency official.

"Based on data taken through aerial and land surveys, the land and forests that have been set on fire reached 6,000 hectares," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the head of the data information center of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said here on Saturday.

The locations set on fire included the world nature preserves Biospher Giam Siak Kecil, Bukit Batu in Bengkalis District and the National Tesso Nello Park.

Several fires also broke out at plantations. The fire at the Biosphere Siak Kecil Preserve caused a thick cloud to blanket Pekanbaru City, Riau. The air pollution standard index reached 375 in Bengkalis and 500 in Duri.

"This has reached a dangerous level," Sutopo stressed.

He added that the Ministry of Forestry had also reported 70 hotspots detected by the NOAA18 satellites in Riau.

Meanwhile, Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsur Maarif stated on Friday that some 99 percent of forest and plantation fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan were deliberately set.

"There should be sanctions to stop recurrences. Slash-and-burn farming methods exist in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but the most important is that this should be controlled," Syamsul Maarif noted in a statement.

As part of law enforcement actions, the Indonesian police have named 23 suspects in Riau and 16 in Central Kalimantan for allegedly setting fires.

"There are several factors behind their decision to set fires in plantation and forest areas, such as economic, social and cultural factors," he explained.

The dry season in Sumatra and Kalimantan has triggered forest and plantation fires that produced haze.

The NOAA 18 satellite on Thursday detected 17 hotspots in Aceh, 12 in East Kalimantan, 10 in West Kalimantan, four in North Sumatra and four in North Kalimantan.

(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/F001)

Editor: Aditia Maruli

Indonesia: Haze affects health of 28,000 residents in Riau
Antara 1 Mar 14;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - More than 28,000 people are suffering from various smoke-related diseases, due to forest and land fires occurring over the past five weeks in Riau Province.

Riau Provinces Health Service released figures on the latest number of people affected by haze here on Saturday.

According to the health service, 27,000 people are now suffering from upper respiratory track infections, 1,365 from skin diseases, 1,031 from asthma, 724 from eye irritations and 516 from chronic pneumonia.

"They are residents of Pekanbaru City where 6,543 are suffering from upper respiratory track infections, 118 from pneumonia, 370 from asthma, 70 have eye irritations and 353 are being treated for eye diseases," Riau Provinces Health Service Head Zainal Arifin said here on Saturday.

In Rokan Hilir District, 6,892 are suffering from upper respiratory track infections, 27 from pneumonia, 54 from eye diseases, and 83 have skin problems.

Others are residents of Siak District, where 2,283 have upper respiratory track problems, 62 are suffering from pneumonia, 86 from asthma, 92 have eye irritations and 158 from skin irritations.

In Bengkalis District, the haze has cause upper respiratory track infections in 2,194, pneumonia in 52 residents, 46 suffer from asthma, 54 have eye irritations and 86 with skin diseases.

"This number can still continue to increase," Zainal Arifin noted.

It was reported on Monday (Feb 24) that the number of upper respiratory tract infection cases due to haze pollution in the Riau Province has increased from 15 thousand to 20 thousand.

"The data on the number of upper respiratory tract infection sufferers has been collected from various districts in the province since January this year," Zainal Arifin stated.

He noted that in January, the number of people ailing from respiratory infections was five thousand. However, the number spiraled to 15.2 thousand sufferers last week and further rose to the current figure of 20 thousand.

Arifin claimed that this number excluded those suffering from other haze-related ailments, such as skin irritations and eye irritations, among others.

In the meantime, a Riau climatology official emphasized that the haze in the province will not disperse to Singapore and Malaysia, although a total of 1,234 hotspots have been detected.

On Monday, Ardhitama, an analyst from the local Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Pekanbaru, explained here that the smoke produced by the hotspots in the region will only pollute the air around the province.

He noted that winds blowing during the current dry season in Riau originated from the north and the east directions and were drifting towards the south, which is in the opposite direction of Singapore and Malaysia.

This morning, the Terra and Aqua satellites detected 1,234 hotspots in Riau. This number is fewer than the 1,526 hotspots reported on June 23, 2013. During that time, the smoke rising from forest fires was dispersed by winds towards Singapore and Malaysia.

Riau province has suffered a loss of Rp10 trillion due to haze from forest and plantation fires, stated Viator Butar, the deputy chairman of the Riau Chamber of Commerce and Industrys Economic and International Cooperation Section.

"The Rp10 trillion loss was calculated, among other things, from the slowdown of business productivity and goods, the public's mobility, as well as the cancellation or postponement of flights and shipping due to haze," he explained.

The Riau provincial administration has declared a state of emergency following the expanding forest and plantation fires, mostly set deliberately to clear land for new plantations.
(Uu.A014/INE/KR-BSR)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Haze disrupts 24 flights in Pekanbaru
Antara 1 Mar 14;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - At least 24 flights were delayed for hours at Bakanbarus Sultan Syarif Kasim II (SSK II) Airport due to thick haze blanketing the Riau Provincial city of Pekanbaru on Saturday, an airport official said.

"The longest delay, reaching nine hours, happened with a Lion Air plane from Kuala Namu airport, North Sumatra, to Pekanbarus SSK II airport," Hasnan, the airport duty manager, said here on Saturday.

The Lion Air plane was scheduled to arrive at SSK II airport at 7 am, but due to thick smoke the plane did not land until 4 pm.

He said other flights had an average delay of about three hours.

"Visibility happened to drop to 800 meters because of the smog that covered the airport," he added.

Baiquni, who took over as airport duty manager on Saturday night said, on average, there were 10 scheduled flights that were disrupted every day.

Thus, over the past three weeks about 210 flights were delayed at the SSK II airport in Pekanbaru.

Those flights included domestic and international flights.

The Terra and Aqua satellite has detected 1,046 hotspots from forests, plantations and peatland fires across Sumatra Island, it was reported Saturday morning.

"Of the total number, 963 were found in Riau Province. The number is significantly up from those on the previous day," Sugarin, the head of the Pekanbaru meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency, said here on Saturday.

The NOAA 18 satellite, however, detected only 138 hotspots across Sumatra on Friday, including 70 in Riau province, according to the Riau disaster mitigation office (BPBD).

So far this month, the NOAA 8 satellite revealed 2,208 hotspots on Sumatra Island, including 1,272 in Riau Province.

In Riau, hotspots were found in Bengkalis (312), Pelalawan (198 titik), Dumai (174), Siak (147), Indragiri Hilir (130), Rokan Hilir (110), Meranti (91), Kampar (49), Indragiri Hulu (29), and Kuantan Singingi (16).

Also, Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsul Maarif stated that some 99 percent of forest and plantation fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan were deliberately set.

"There should be sanctions to stop recurrences. Slash-and-burn farming methods exist in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but the most important thing is that they should be controlled," Maarif noted in a statement on Feb. 28.

According to Maarif, the Indonesian police have named 23 suspects in Riau and 16 in Central Kalimantan, who allegedly set the fires.

"There are several factors behind their decision to set fires in plantation and forest areas, such as economic, social and cultural factors," he explained.

The hotspots were also detected in other districts of Riau, including Indragiri Hulu (29), and Rokan Hulu (14), as well as Riaus capital of Pekanbaru (two).

On February 28, the Riau provincial police announced that 40 individuals have been named as suspects in forest and plantations fires in several districts and cities.

"All of them have been detained, after being identified as suspects, for allegedly setting fires during the past several weeks," said Senior Commissioner Estuning of the Riau police plantation fire task force.

The suspects were all individuals, she added. "The cases allegedly involving companies are still under investigation," she pointed out.

(A014/INE)
(A014/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

Riau haze mitigation post reopened
Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 1 Mar 14;

After a hiatus of nearly six months, the haze mitigation command post at Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase in Pekanbaru, Riau, will be reactivated to speed up forest and peatland fire fighting operations in Riau.

Haze Emergency Response Task Force commander and chief of the Wirabima Military Command Brig. Gen. Prihadi Agus Irianto said initially a helicopter would observe the condition and spread of hotspots across the regencies and cities in Riau.

Three hundred Indonesian Army (TNI) soldiers have been deployed to a number of regencies, including Bengkalis, Meranti Islands, Siak and Pelalawan, to help the respective regional administrations’ land fire-fighting operations.

“We have mapped out the priority areas, focusing on those with a lot of hotspots,” Prihadi said.

“Land fire fighting is underway until the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s [BNPB] fleet are set for the aerial operation. Currently, the task force is using borrowed helicopters, but it is not possible for us to depend on them all the time,” added Agus.

During aerial observations, nine hotspots were detected in a biosphere reserve inside the concession area of PT Arara Abadi, a subsidiary of Sinar Mas Forestry.

“The company will be asked for verification as the fire has affected a vast area in its concession and caused dense haze. As a concession holder, it should be accountable,” said Prihadi.

In response, Sinas Mas Forestry spokesman Nurul Huda did not deny the fire had taken place in its concession area in Bukit Batu district, Bengkalis. He claimed the fire occurred in the concession area of PT Bukit Batu Hutani Alam (BBHA) and PT Sakato Pratama Makmur (SPM), but not PT Arara Abadi.

“BBHA and SPM are not subsidiaries of Sinar Mas, but partners, or suppliers,” Nurul said, adding that the fires originated outside the concession areas. “Those who started the fire remain unidentified, but they must have been forest clearers because the neighboring areas are dominated by squatters.”

“The fire only spread to our area in the past three days. Firefighters have been on standby for a long time but wind made the task of putting out the fires difficult,” said Nurul, adding that an additional 200 firefighters had been deployed.

Separately, Riau Police chief and deputy head of the task force’s law enforcement affairs Brig. Gen. Condro Kirono said there was no indication that the fires were intentional.

“But, we will dig deeper,” Condro said. “So far, the teams have received 31 reports from various regions. As many as 26 people have been named suspects. All of them acted alone and none were connected to corporations,” said Condro.

Separately, BNPB spokesman Agus Wibowo said BNPB had drawn up an aerial fire fighting plan, which would involve two BE 200 amphibious planes, two Kamov helicopters, two Sikorsky helicopters and four Bolco helicopters.

“Locations that are difficult to reach by land and lack water sources will be the target of the aerial operation,” Agus said.

“Mitigation efforts are currently focused in Riau and West Kalimantan. The condition in West Kalimantan has improved thanks to rain, but Riau still needs attention because it is still dry. Neighboring provinces, such as Bengkulu and West Sumatra, have complained about the haze from Riau,” he added.

Officials in the dark over haze in Kerinci
Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 1 Mar 14;

A thick haze has blanketed the Kerinci regency, in Jambi, despite the fact that there are no hotspots near the area, an official has said. He claimed the haze was coming from the neighboring province of Riau.

"Reports from Kerinci and Jambi state that there are no hotspots or wildfires there," Head of the Forestry and Plantation Agency Abu Hasan said on Saturday.

Head of the Kerinci regency Environment Agency Anizar corroborated the statement, saying that the haze was coming from the Tebo and Riau directions. Anizar said he had consulted with the Jambi administration but got no response.(tjs/dic)

Haze-affected people in Padang to get free masks: Official
Antara 28 Feb 14;

Padang, West Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The Padang city health department in West Sumatra will soon distribute free masks to the local people if haze covering the city continues to thicken, a local government official said.

Health Department Chief Eka Lusti said here Friday that the free masks would be distributed if the haze continued to blanket the city.

"The haze blanketing the city of Padang is still at a normal level but we will keep monitoring its latest development and if it continues to thicken, then we will distribute free masks," she said.

The local health department officials have encouraged the local people to reduce their outdoor activities because of the haze from the neighboring province, Eka said.

"Now masks are available at community clinics for haze-affected people who would like to have them," she said.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/R013)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Indonesian province declares emergency due to haze
Kanupriya Kapoor and Yayat Supriatna PlanetArk 28 Feb 14;

Indonesia's Riau province declared a state of emergency on Thursday as haze from raging forest fires, often deliberately set, disrupted flights and marine navigation and authorities reported a sharp rise in respiratory problems.

The national disaster mitigation agency said the province of 5 million, a major palm oil growing region, had been experiencing haze for several weeks due to illegal land clearing and prolonged dry weather.

"According to the data we have, the fires have gotten worse and need to be extinguished with water-bombing planes and we are ready to do that," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said in a text message.

Reuters TV images showed smoke rising from swathes of burning land as firefighters struggled to contain the blazes, complaining of limited equipment and water supplies.

Provincial authorities handed out masks and urged residents to stay indoors.

"The situation is worrying...because we have seen an increase in cases of respiratory problems from 5,000 in January to 22,000," Zainal Arifin, head of the provincial health department, told reporters.

Several flights were cancelled or diverted from airports in Riau as visibility dropped to less than 1 km (half a mile), the disaster mitigation agency said.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Association told Reuters that haze had caused delays to shipments from airports and ports in neighboring North Sumatra province, but give no details.

Haze is a recurring problem for Indonesia and its neighbors, often caused by farmers and companies burning forests to make way for palm oil plantations.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had to apologize to neighbors Singapore and Malaysia in mid-2013, when those countries were blanketed with thick smog from forest fires in Indonesia.

Analysts estimated last year that Singapore faced nearly $1 billion in financial losses in what was Southeast Asia's worst air pollution crisis in 16 years.

The Indonesian meteorology agency said winds were moving in a southwesterly direction, away from Singapore. But a shift in wind direction, which usually occurs near the end of the Indonesian monsoon season in April or May, could affect the city-state again.

Police arrested 26 people last week in connection with fires and illegal land clearing, which have affected about 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of land.

(Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor and Yayat Supriatna, Editing by Ron Popeski)