thejakartapost.com 14 Oct 15;
Haze was still blanketing Muara Teweh in North Barito regency, Central Kalimantan, on Wednesday morning, despite declining two days ago.
According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Muara Teweh the area’s horizontal visibility was only 200 meters on Wednesday morning, while the vertical visibility was 350 feet. On Tuesday, the former was between 1,000 m and 2 kilometers, while the latter was around 450 feet.
“The haze in Muara Teweh has come back; the sunshine this morning looked dim due to being covered in haze, no longer clear like yesterday. The haze was carried by the wind yesterday with speed between 5 and 9 km per hour from the southwest,” said a BMKG representative on Wednesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
According to the Manggala Agni Muara Teweh firefighting unit’s spokesperson Aswaludin, hot spots were no longer detected in North Barito by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 18 and Modis Terra Aqua satellites on Wednesday around 6 a.m.
“The hot spots are gone. On Tuesday, six hot spots were still detected in the regency,” said Aswaludin.
In addition to Muara Teweh, other regencies in Central Kalimantan are reportedly also free from hot spots on Wednesday morning, namely Puruk Cahu in Murung Raya regency, Tamiang Layang in East Barito regency and Buntok in South Barito regency. (kes)(++++)
Indonesia, foreign team to focus on extinguishing fires in South Sumatra
Antara 14 Oct 15;
Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The joint Indonesian-foreign team kept the focus on extinguishing land and forest fires in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) district, South Sumatra Province.
"The joint task force focused on tackling land and forest fires through the air. Ogan Ilir had become the biggest source of haze, compared to other districts in Indonesia," the task forces deputy chief, Yulizar Dinoto, said here on Wednesday.
According to him, any fire occurring in peatlands region should be handled specifically and properly.
To maximize the burnout in peatlands, the joint team conducted a water bombing operation.
"Based on the directions of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Luhut Pandjaitan, efforts to put out the fires through water bombing were undertaken because the land was precariously located," he said.
He pointed out that the team will mobilize all personnel and equipment support, as well as assistance from several foreign countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.
"Five helicopters and two planes have been deployed to combat the fires. In addition, the government made efforts to induce artificial rain in the region," he said.
Earlier, to overcome the smog disaster, the local government deployed 4,997 personnel from the Provincial Agency for Disaster Management (BPBD), Manggala Agni, and Indonesian Armed/Police Forces, since September 2015.
They were part of a task force which was assigned the role of reducing land and forest fires in South Sumatra.
"In the last two months, the task force had extinguished fires in 1,259 hotspots and conducted 6,826 water bombing operations," South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin stated.
In addition, his officials will deploy additional equipment to put out land and forest fires.
This is part of the anticipatory measures undertaken to face the next dry season, so that smog problem can be minimized, or even overcome.
"The next steps will include adding more than 40 water pumps and normalizing the flow of water in peatlands or areas prone to land and forest fires," the governor explained.(*)
Forestry Ministry Recruits Environmental Experts for Forest Fire Lawsuit
Farouk Arnaz Jakarta Globe 14 oct 15;
Jakarta. The Forestry Ministry has enlisted the help of environmental experts to strengthen a lawsuit against Sinar Mas Group's Bumi Mekar Hijau, the first company to officially be named a suspect for allegedly causing forest fires.
The ministry has filed a civil lawsuit against Bumi Mekar, which owns pulpwood concessions in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, demanding the company pay the state Rp 7.8 trillion ($573.8 million) for damages it allegedly incurred by illegally setting forests ablaze.
The lawsuit is also directed at the company's management, who – if proven guilty – may face up to 10 years in prison.
Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said the trial for Bumi Mekar is currently being heard at the Palembang district court in South Sumatra.
The ministry is still awaiting the court's decision, according to Forestry Ministry spokeswoman Eka W. Soegiri.
Neither were ready to name the environmental experts who were brought on to the case.
Bumi Mekar Hijau is among more than 10 companies – including Tempirai Palm Resources and Wayumsi Agro Indah – currently under investigation for allegedly setting fire to land and forests in South Sumatra.
Only Bumi Mekar Hijau has been named a suspect so far.
"Bumi Mekar Hijau's file is ready to be sent to the Attorney General's Office," according to a police source, who declined to be named.
The source added that the case against Bumi Mekar Hijau will be a major test for the police as it involves one of Indonesia's largest business conglomerates, whose network is vast and influential.
Despite the intimidating task, director of the National Police's criminal investigation unit Brig. Gen. Yazid Fanani said the force is committed to processing such cases without discrimination.
"We'll investigate [everyone]. If there are allegations of negligence or intent, we'll pursue [the case]," he said last week.
Australia sends planes to fight fire
VEENA BABULAL New Straits Times 14 Oct 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: Australia has followed in Malaysia and Singapore’s footsteps by sending planes to help Indonesia put out forest fires that have shrouded the skies of Southeast Asian countries with haze for more than a month.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on her ministerial website today said Australia had sent two aerial response firefighting teams to assist Indonesia in combating forest fires raging in South Sumatera.
The aircrafts, namely a L100 Lockheed C130 Water Tanker (“Thor”) and a Turbo Commander 690B lead plane have arrived in Sumatera and are scheduled to start operations today.
The response team is expected to be based outside Palembang.
An assessment team had arrived earlier in Palembang, Sumatra on Sunday to coordinate the ground arrangements with Indonesian authorities.
“I reiterate my gratitude to the NSW Rural Fire Service for its rapid response to Indonesia's request for assistance and acknowledge the contribution of the Victorian Government’s personnel to this operation,” she added.
“While Australia has experienced a dramatic start to the bushfire season, a lull in severe weather conditions has meant we can assist Indonesia and still maintain national aerial fire fighting coverage,” she said in a separate post which announced Australia’s decision a few days ago.
“Our Federal and State governments understand the social and economic impact from bushfires and are ready to support our Indonesian neighbours at this time of need,” she added.
Bishop explained that the fires are creating hazardous conditions in at least six Indonesian provinces.
Over 135,000 Indonesians have been affected with respiratory illnesses. The fires have continued to worsen due to drought conditions across Indonesia.
So far a total of 1.7-million hectares of Indonesian land and forests are reportedly affected by the fires.
President Joko Widodo had earlier said Indonesia plans to extinguish all fires burning in different parts of the country within two weeks, with the assistance of neighboring countries.
It has accepted help from its neighbors, including Australia, to put out the fires that degraded air quality in Malaysia and Singapore to levels described as “hazardous” and caused the haze to travel as far away as Thailand.
Malaysia flew in a CL415 Bombardier with a flight crew of 12 people while Singapore dispatched a Chinook helicopter and a Hercules plane to help Indonesian authorities conduct water bombing and cloud seeding in South Sumatera to generate rain and put out the fires.
On Oct 14, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre picked up 21 hotspots in Kalimantan and more than 150 hotspots in Sumatera, through satellites.
Earlier Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd was forced to close three of its airports while seven provinces in southern Thailand were affected by the haze, including the resort island of Phuket.
