Indonesia Seeks Asean Help to Tackle Haze Woes

Reaching Out: An adviser to President Yudhoyono says countries such as Singapore and Malaysia now have ‘legal ground’ to help
Tunggadewa Mattangkilang & Vento Saudale Jakarta Globe 13 Oct 14;

Residents cross the road amid haze in Banjar, South Kalimantan on Oct. 6, 2014. (Antara Photo/Murdy Herry Hermawan)

Residents cross the road amid haze in Banjar, South Kalimantan on Oct. 6, 2014. (Antara Photo/Murdy Herry Hermawan)

Balikpapan/Jakarta. Indonesia is inviting its Southeast Asian neighbors to help tackle forest fires and haze that are once again plaguing Sumatra and Kalimantan, following its ratification last month of a regional agreement allowing transboundary cooperation on haze pollution.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BNPB, reported more than 500 fire hot spots in Sumatra and Kalimantan over the weekend, causing haze that forced at least four airports to shut down and sent air pollution indices to hazardous levels in several regions.

Agus Purnomo, an adviser to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on climate change, said that with the House of Representatives finally ratifying last month the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, countries like Singapore and Malaysia, which are often affected by the haze, could now actively take part in measures to tackle the problem.

“The agreement makes it easier for our neighbors to help us tackle fires and haze. They now have a legal ground to help,” Agus told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.

Parties to the agreement, signed in 2002, are required to cooperate in measures to mitigate transboundary haze pollution, as well as to respond promptly to “a request for relevant information sought by a state or states that are or may be affected” by such pollution in order to minimize the impacts.

The second part in particular has been a sensitive issue for Indonesia, which is why it was the last Asean member state to ratify the agreement, despite being the prime generator of haze from forest fires in Southeast Asia.

The BNPB said 153 hot spots were detected on Sumatra by satellites as of 5 a.m. on Sunday, with 144 in South Sumatra province alone.

Kalimantan, which barely reported any major fire and haze events last year, had a recorded 357 hot spots on Saturday, according to satellite imagery. Most of the hot spots were concentrated in Central Kalimantan (220), followed by South Kalimantan (61), East Kalimantan (50) and West Kalimantan (26).

BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Sunday that the numbers from Sumatra were not yet complete because another satellite had yet to make a pass over the region on Sunday afternoon.

“So the figure may be bigger,” he said.

The BNPB had not yet updated the data by press time on Sunday night.

Thick haze forced the temporary closure of Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Saturday.

“We had to close down the airport because of the haze, the visibility was less than a kilometer. The minimum visibility for aviation is 1.5 kilometers,” airport spokesman Awaluddin told the Globe.

Awaluddin said five flights were delayed and six flights were diverted to Hassanudin Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

“This is the first time we’ve had to delay flights and divert planes since the haze first hit Balikpapan,” he said. The airport, previously known as Sepinggan, resumed operation later in the day.

On Sunday, four other airports were shut down, this time in Sumatra: Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau; Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands; Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang, South Sumatra; and Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin Airport in Jambi.

“The arrival schedules have been delayed, as currently the visibility is only 500 meters,” Baiquni Sudrajat, a spokesman for Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport, told Detik.com on Sunday.

The haze affected most flights to and from Pekanbaru on Sunday.

“Because the arriving planes were delayed, the planes departing from this airport are also delayed,” Baiquni said.

Air quality also plunged in several regions worst hit by fire-induced haze, including Libo village in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, where the Pollutant Standard Index reached 399, above the minimum hazardous level of 300.

Air quality is considered “good” for a PSI reading of between 0 and 50, “moderate” for PSI between 51-100, “unhealthy” for 101-200, “very unhealthy” for 201-300 and “dangerous” for a PSI more than 300.

“In Rumbai, the index reached 251; in Minas it was 176; in Duri the index was 136; in Dumai 148…” Sutopo said, citing PSI indices in a number of regions in Riau.

The Balikpapan Health Office, meanwhile, reported that more than 2,000 people had been diagnosed with upper-respiratory tract infections due to the haze. By comparison 1,300 people were recorded with the same diagnosis in September.

Sutopo said his office was working with local authorities on various fire-fighting efforts, including on the ground and through aerial water drops.

The haze problem has re-emerged just six months after the Riau provincial administration lifted the emergency status imposed after last year’s haze, which was one of the worst cases in the country in decades. The fires, burning more frequently, are attributed largely to the slash-and-burn clearing of forests by farmers to open up land for oil palm plantations.

Authorities in Kalimantan, which has not been as badly hit as Sumatra, have also blamed plantation companies for the fires. A spokesman for the East Kalimantan Police said police were investigating the fires.