Indonesia: As haze clears, govt finally acts

Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post 5 Nov 15;

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered on Wednesday all relevant government institutions to start working on preventive measures that could prevent the annual forest and peatland fires, with only eight months left before the next dry season starts.

Jokowi told a limited Cabinet meeting that now was the perfect time to start focusing on preventive efforts given that the number of hot spots had declined from more than 1,000 to around 53 in Sumatra and 124 in Kalimantan.

“We will use this moment to focus on preventive measures, particularly in anticipation of future [fires]. Therefore, we will review regulations — whether they are laws, government regulations or gubernatorial regulations — which allow the burning of forests and peatland,” Jokowi said in his opening remarks to the meeting on Wednesday.

The thick haze that has enveloped Sumatra and Kalimantan for the past three months started to ease last week after rains fell in the two worst-affected regions.

However, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that the rainy season is not expected to start until early December and that the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon will continue.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry previously considered restricting slash-and-burn practices by drafting a ministerial regulation — which would also put more emphasis on sustainable land clearance and management practices.

Officials in the Jokowi administration have also said it is mulling the issuance of a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to repeal Article 69 of the 2009 Environment Law, which allows smallholders of 2 hectares of land or less to clear their land by burning.

The provision has often been abused by local farmers, as well as major plantation firms, to engage in slash-and-burn practices, a major cause of forest fires in the country.

The government has also considered imposing economic sanctions, including banning those firms involved in forest fires from obtaining bank loans or selling land cleared using the slash-and-burn method.

In the meeting, Jokowi also instructed that all concession licenses, particularly those related to peatland, must be subject to reviews and that there would be no more new licenses for peatland concessions.

The President also ordered the completion of all fire-break projects in peatland areas.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Willem Rampangilei said existing BNPB standard operating procedures in preventing forest fires — which also cover early warning mechanisms — should be adopted into a government regulation given that such preventive measures involved other related institutions and ministries.

“Further discussion is needed to adopt them into a government regulation,” Willem said, adding that, following Jokowi’s Wednesday instructions, all relevant government institutions and ministries would work in unison to prevent forest and peatland fires. “[Jokowi’s instruction] will be followed up by organizing ministerial coordination meetings to draft future preventive measures,” Willem said.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said, however, that issuing a Perppu would only be a last resort.

National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti, meanwhile, said that several of the investigations into individuals allegedly involved in the forest burning had been wrapped up and would soon be taken to court.

Badrodin, however, declined to identify the individuals.

The police are currently working on 238 cases related to forest and peatland fires. Of the 238 cases, 191 involved individual perpetrators while 47 involved corporations, including a number of foreign companies.

The police have named 205 suspects in individual cases, and 11 suspects in the corporate cases. At least 72 people have been detained.

During the meeting, the President also urged Siti to involve peatland experts in drafting a blueprint for future peatland management. Jokowi met with a number of peatland management and environment experts at the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) on Tuesday, which produced what he described as comprehensive input.

Jokowi received his undergraduate degree in forestry from UGM.

In the meeting, the UGM team highlighted the importance of conserving the natural function of the peat domes — located under the peat areas — in restoring the underground water, and suggested that a comprehensive topographic mapping of peatland should be the first step in implementing better peatland management.


Prolonged haze kills baby
The Jakarta Post 5 Nov 15;

A 1-and-a-half-year-old baby girl in Palembang has passed away in an accident believed to have been caused by an acute respiratory infection (ISPA) brought about by prolonged haze. It is estimated that six children have now died because of the suffocating smoke that has engulfed Sumatra and other parts of the country.

The baby, Fadilah Rahma, died on Tuesday after being treated for 15 days at the Siti Khodijah and Mohammad Hoesin hospitals in the capital city of South Sumatra.

“The doctor said that [my daughter died because of the] haze. The X-ray results showed that my daughter suffered from an ISPA. There have been no other health problems since she was born,” the baby’s mother, Ria Susanti, said on Wednesday.

Tribunnews.com reported that the baby was a resident of a low-cost apartment complex in the city. She was buried in the Sekuning public cemetery in Palembang.

Separately, a spokesperson from Siti Khodijah hospital, Nala Rosmini, confirmed that Fadilah had been treated at the hospital from Oct. 8 to Oct. 16. The baby was then transferred to the Mohammad Hoesin hospital for further intensive treatment.

“But for now, we cannot give any further statement [on the disease],” Nala said.

Besides Fadilah, it is believed that another baby from Palembang has also died because of the prolonged haze in the province, often thought to be among the provinces most affected by haze because of its sizable land and forest fires.

The 28-day-old baby passed away on Oct. 3 at Muhammadiyah hospital after suffering from an ISPA. The baby was the child of Hendra Saputra and Mursida, a couple from Baten Seberang Ulu, Palembang.

According to the data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), at least five children have died because of haze-related illnesses in Sumatra and Kalimantan as of October.

Besides the deaths, KPAI reported that 19 babies had received intensive treatment in Sumatran hospitals after suffering from an ISPA.

With the death of Fadilah, at least 11 people, including the babies, have passed away from across the country due to the prolonged haze.

The government has called on hospitals to pay more attention to people in distress, particularly babies, children, pregnant women and asthma sufferers who were more susceptible to haze-related health problems.

Hundreds of thousands of residents have suffered from haze-related illnesses.

In an effort to show his seriousness in dealing with the haze crisis, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo cut short his trip to the US and flew directly to Palembang.

After holding a meeting to discuss mitigation efforts with a number of ministers on Thursday in Ogan Komering Ilir regency — the temporary base of his administration — Jokowi paid a visit to a community health center (Puskesmas) and a shelter at the Kayuagung General Hospital to inspect the services there.

According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the ongoing haze crisis had caused more than 500,000 people in six provinces — Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan — to suffer from an ISPA.

Earlier in October, the Health Ministry revealed that in addition to four fatalities, 45,666 people in the Riau Islands suffered from illnesses. Furthermore, 69,734 Jambi residents are believed to have suffered illnesses related to the haze in addition to one fatality. Meanwhile in South Sumatra, 83,276 residents have suffered from illnesses and have two people died.

Over the past few months, Indonesia has struggled to minimize the impact of air pollution originating from fires on plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Forestry sector experiences negative growth amid fires
Ayomi Amindoni, thejakartapost.com 5 Nov 15;

Amid the persistent land and forest fires, the forestry and logging sectors experienced contraction in the third quarter.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded negative growth of -2.72 percent compared to last year's third quarter.

"Forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan have reduced timber production of industrial forests in Riau and Kalimantan," BPS deputy head of balance and statistics analysis Kecuk Suharyanto told a press conference on Thursday.

Although the agency had yet to conduct a specific study on the impact of the fires on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Suharyanto said that impacts could be seen in the agriculture sector's slowdown.

He added that the fishery subsector recorded 8.27 percent growth in the third quarter, owing to an increase in seaweed production. Overall, the agriculture sector grew 3.21 percent, lower than the same period last year, which stood at 3.63 percent. This sector alone contributed 14.57 percent to the total GDP.

Meanwhile, the trade sector suffered from a drop in vehicle sales. Imported goods reported negative growth as well at -7 percent.

In the mining and excavation sector, negative growth of -5.64 percent was recorded.

"There has been a steep drop in the coal-mining sector from -3.12 percent in the third quarter of 2014 to -19.51 in this year's third quarter," he explained.

Suharyanto also said that the construction sector slightly grew by 6.82 percent on the significant increase of government capital spending. (kes)