Antara 4 Nov 15;
Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA News)- Only 13 hotspots indicating forest and plantation fires were detected across Sumatra Island on Wednesday morning, a sharp drop from 200 recorded on the previous day.
Based on monitoring conducted by the Terra and Aqua satellites, six hotspots were found in South Sumatra, four in Lampung, two in Bangka Belitung Islands, and one in West Sumatra, Budi Satria, the head of the Koto Tabang meteorology section, noted.
However, the NOAA-18 satellite detected 36 hotspots across Sumatra Island on Wednesday morning.
"The NOAA-18 satellite detected 20 hotspots in Bangka Belitung Islands, six in Lampung, six in South Sumatra, and four in Jambi," he remarked.
In the meantime, the number of hotspots in Indonesia has, in general, decreased significantly over the last few days.
"The number of hotspots has decreased significantly," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), recently reported.
In addition, rains received in the past couple of days have improved the air quality and visibility in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Moreover, the BNPB had seeded 284.9 tons of salt (NaCl) in the skies above Sumatra and Kalimantan islands to produce artificial rain as part of the efforts to extinguish forest and land fires in the two regions.(*)
President calls for thorough handling of forest fires
Antara 4 Nov 15;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo has called for a thorough handling of forest and land fires, including taking preventive steps to avoid their recurrence in future.
"This momentum must be utilized, and we must focus on prevention for the future. Hence, we will conduct a review on several rules, including laws and government regulations as well as governor regulations that permit the burning of forest and peatland areas," he affirmed while opening a limited meeting on handling forest fires at his office here on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite latest reports indicating a drop in the number of fires and rains being experienced in several regions, the president called for continued efforts to handle and prevent forest fires.
"Thank God, according to the latest report I received, the number of fires has dropped significantly in Sumatra. There are still 53 fires in Sumatra and 124 in Kalimantan. The number has dropped considerably because the figure earlier reached more than one thousand," he stated.
One of the efforts to be undertaken to prevent their recurrence in future is to improve the regulations, he added.
"A review will also be conducted on all licenses and concessions, especially those granted to peatland areas, and I have instructed the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to not issue new licenses for peatland exploitation," he remarked.
To ensure effective and continued handling and prevention of forest and peatland fires, the government plans to set up a special task force to deal with it, he emphasized.
"A special measure is needed especially for dealing with peatlands. We will discuss about setting up a special institution, body, or task force through a presidential decree that would move fast. We must ensure that in the next dry season, there will be actions. The efforts will continue even after the onset of the rainy season," he stressed.
Regarding blocking canal development, he affirmed that it would continue to be implemented to restore the peatland areas.
President Widodo called for the involvement of peat experts to ensure the correct handling of peatland areas.
"Yesterday, I received a team of peat experts from the Gajah Mada University. They have given comprehensive inputs, and I have asked the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to continue to involve them. The experts will plan the management of peatland areas in the future. It is clear what we have to do, and this afternoon, we will follow what I have said," he noted.
The meeting was attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Luhut Panjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution, Military (TNI) Commander General Gatot Nurmantyo, National Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Minister/State Secretary Pratikno, and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung.(*)
Government prepares plan for sustainable peat areas
Ina Parlina and Tama Salim, The Jakarta Post 4 Nov 15;
Amid complications in extinguishing peatland fires in large parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the government plans to acquire the help of academics and locals and brainstorm solutions for sustainable peatland management.
Among the experts, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo consulted with a number of University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) lecturers, including Azwar Maas, a professor with expertise on peatland management, and UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati, on Tuesday at the State Palace.
With research dating back to 1974, the UGM team presented a number of feasibility studies, including one conducted between 2014 and 2015, to the President, who was accompanied by a number of Cabinet ministers, including Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar and Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono.
Azwar highlighted the importance of “bringing back the natural function of restoring [underground] water of the peat domes [located under the peat areas]”.
The UGM team also said that comprehensive topographic mapping of peatland was also essential and should be the first step in seeking better peatland management.
UGM forestry expert Oka Karyanto said dried peat was not only prone to fires but also warned that it caused subsidence, saying that Indonesia might lose around 10 percent from the total area of peatland in the country — mostly in the coastal areas — in the future.
Dwikorita said that future efforts to prevent fires and peatland damage “need to be done by integrating [...] social, technical and political aspects” in peatland and plantation management.
Both Siti and Basuki said their offices would follow up on UGM’s input following Jokowi’s instruction.
“The Forestry Ministry will combine UGM’s recommendations and other recommendations and might launch a pilot project for the mapping activities, peat fire prevention and mitigation efforts soon,” Siti added.
Basuki said the government only had about two months for the mapping activities and around eight months to prepare measures to face next year’s dry season.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan said that the government had shown great intent in collaborating with experts to find a permanent solution to the peatland problem.
In addition to UGM, Luhut revealed that the government was keen on working with a local Dayak tribe group from Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan.
“The government will work with UGM on the peatland conundrum. We will then talk with a team from Central Kalimantan — part of the Dayak tribe — about land management in Pulang Pisau, which will become a pilot project for a [nationwide] solution to the problem,” Luhut said on Tuesday.
Luhut previously said after a meeting with the House of Representatives that the government had stumbled on a complication having to do with the extinguishing of peatland fires, which often reignited underground despite the state’s best efforts.
Luhut said the El Niño effect had not been adequately anticipated, resulting in persisting hot spots brought about by a prolonged dry season.
Meanwhile, Luhut said that mitigation efforts to address the haze resulting from such fires had gone quite well. “We evaluated our mitigation efforts in Sumatra and Kalimantan and the amount of haze has been prominently reduced; around 5 to 10 percent of it remains,” he explained.
Moving forward, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani told reporters that the government would prioritize implementing policies that take account of social and health effects brought about by the haze.
According to her, President Jokowi has instructed that such humanitarian efforts be implemented in concert with mitigation efforts under the coordination of Luhut.
“Handling the social impact and the effects on public health will be a top priority,” she said on the sidelines of the meeting on Tuesday.
Regulation readied to restrict slash-and-burn practices
Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post 4 Nov 15;
The government plans to revise regulations related to the forestry sector in a bid to put an end to the annual forest fires that have put the lives of millions of people at risk.
The Environment and Forestry Ministry said on Tuesday that the government was considering including provisions in some laws that would put more emphasis on sustainable land clearing and management practices in addition to restricting slash-and-burn practices.
“We are looking for input from multiple parties before we issue a ministerial regulation replacing the law. This draft will fix or reconsider Article 69 [of Law No. 32/2009], which allows people to clear land by burning up to 2 hectares based on local practices,” the ministry’s secretary-general, Bambang Hendroyono, said during a coordinating meeting on forest fires with local government officials in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The stipulation has been abused by local farmers as well as big firms engaged in slash-and-burn practices.
In the planned revision, the government will forbid all slash-and-burn practices on peatlands even if those practices clock in under 2 hectares and have been practiced locally for decades.
“The point is to protect peatlands from any kind of slash-and-burn practice,” Bambang said. “Even if the peatlands are located in secondary forests, not primary forests, they are still off-limits.”
He said that all slash-and-burn practices would be banned during the dry season, both in peatland and non-peatland areas.
Furthermore, the government will also make it illegal for anyone to build canals to dry out the surface of peatland. Such a process tends to make peatland more combustible.
The planned ministerial regulation follows President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s instruction to revamp the country’s forestry sector on the back of the annual forest fires, which reached catastrophic levels this year because of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
“There has been a presidential instruction. We will use it as a role model [for the ministerial regulation],” Bambang said.
He said such a ministerial regulation was badly needed because the rainy season this year was predicted to last only until January 2016.
“Even though it’s already raining now, we are racing against time again. There’s a high chance that El Niño will come again [next year]. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG], the dry season will come again in February next year, which means that we only have November, December and January [to prepare for the next dry season],” said Bambang.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, meanwhile, said the government had not decided whether there would be a direct stipulation in the new ministerial regulation banning local farmers from conducting slash-and-burn practices.
“It looks like [the restriction] is a done deal. But we don’t know yet [what kind of regulations we will use],” she said on Tuesday, arguing that all parties wanted the slash-and-burn practices to be further restricted.
Besides that, Siti said that the government was also preparing technical guidelines for regional governments on how to implement sustainable land and forestry management and cultivation.
The document will include guidelines for damage recovery after land and forest fires, managing burned-up forest areas, identifying damage and managing peatland ecosystems.
“The document will be ready later this month,” Siti said.
Australia provides equipment to fire affected areas
Antara 4 Nov 15;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Australian Government has expanded its contribution to Indonesian efforts to mitigate the effects and spread of the forest and peat fires which are causing widespread health issues across Indonesia.
Through the Indonesian Red Cross, Australia will help provide vital equipment in Riau, East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan to give immediate relief to communities suffering respiratory and other illnesses as a direct result of the smoke haze.
"Through the Indonesian Red Cross, we can reach out to those communities worst affected with safe houses, ambulances, medical teams, emergency oxygen and 30,000 face masks," Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson said as quoted by the Australian Embassy here on its official website on Wednesday.
According to Indonesian authorities, more than 500,000 Indonesians are suffering from respiratory problems caused by the haze. Australias contribution of AUD300,000 to the Indonesian Red Cross will support its health activities in the three provinces over the next three months.
It follows the deployment of two aircraft, a Lockheed L100 Hercules water tanker, "Thor" and a support plane which joined international efforts, dropping more than 300,000 litres of water in South Sumatra last month.(*)
Want to Stop Fires? Protect the Peat, Academics Tell Joko
Jakarta Globe 4 Nov 15;
Jakarta. A team of academics commissioned by the president to come up with solutions to the perennial problem of forest fires has issued a report echoing everything that environmentalists have been saying for years.
The Working Group for Forest and Peat Fires, headed by Gadjah Mada University rector Dwi Korita, submitted its report to President Joko Widodo on Tuesday, highlighting the need for an “integrated” response to the “social, technical and political aspects” of the problem.
“We also need to pay attention to the legal aspect, as well as the regulations and the spatial planning,” Dwi told reporters at the State Palace in Central Jakarta.
The report recommends, among other things, coming up with a single, undisputed map of all forest areas and concessions in Indonesia, and digging canals to restore water to peat forests drained for farmland.
“We need to have a detailed map of all the peat land all over Indonesia – not only the depth, but also the topography as well, to allow the canals and water restoration project to start within the next few months,” Joko said.
Environmentalists have long called for a single-map system to better manage and monitor Indonesia’s forestry sector. They have also spoken out against the draining of peat swamps, permitted by regional authorities, because of the huge amounts of greenhouse gases released during the conversion of peat forests to farmland.
Forest fires in Sumatra, Kalimantan and other parts of Indonesia this year have triggered the daily release of more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the entire economic activity of the United States. More than half of the fires occurred on peat land.
Muhammadiyah calls for jihad against forest fires
Slamet Susanto and Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 4 Nov 15;
The central executive board of Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah has called for a ‘constitutional jihad’ consisting of the annulment of laws and government regulations that have allowed land and forest fires to rage across large tracts of land.
“We have had a meeting with provincial executive boards and agreed to conduct the constitutional jihad,” Rahmawati Husein of Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center told a discussion forum on the haze held in Yogyakarta on Tuesday.
“Constitutional jihad”, she said, was mandatory because many laws and regulations had been misappropriated.
As an example she said that Article 69 (2) of Law No. 32/2009 on environment management and Protection allowed a family to burn a maximum of two hectares of land under certain circumstances.
“What if 1,000 or 2,000 families do that burning, not to mention corporations disguising themselves as individuals and burning land for financial gain?” Rahmawati said.
According to her, one concrete example of this constitutional jihad could be examining and proposing annulment or amendment of laws and regulations down to the regional level that permit land clearing by burning.
Another speaker at the discussion forum, Eko Priyo Purnomo, said that there was no need for the Indonesian government to ask other nations to help deal with the fires.
As the world’s lungs, he said, Indonesia had been maintaining the world’s natural balance, allowing other countries to receive a free supply of oxygen for eight months.
“Not even thanking us, they scream when the haze reaches them,” he said.
Meanwhile in Riau, two months of school holidays caused by the haze has made students in the province lag behind in school.
Because of this, the provincial administration has asked the central government to postpone the national examinations to make up for the affected schedule.
“The postponement will give the students time to catch up,” Riau Education Agency head Kamsol said, adding that the proposal had been sent to the relevant ministries.
He said if students were forced to stick to the same schedule as the rest of the nation, the pressure might be too intense and students could fail.
“No region wants to have many of its students fail the exam because they had a long holidays due to the haze,” said Kamsol, adding that the proposal had received support from other provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan affected by haze.
He hoped that the related ministries would consider the proposal and make it as a reference to come up with a special policy on the national exam for haze affected regions.
“If otherwise, the alternative is by lowering the standard scores for school and university enrolments specially made for haze-affected regions,” he said.
Kamsol also said that to catch up on missed time, his office had instructed all schools to focus on subjects categorized as basic competence for the final examinations.
Teachers, he said, were also obliged to prepare and provide summaries of the curriculum modules so that the subjects’ core materials could be absorbed sufficiently by the students in the relatively short time before the semester exam scheduled for Dec. 17 to 23.
“Subjects that are not that needed such as local studies and sports can be reduced or even omitted temporarily, and extracurricular activities can be too,” Kamsol said, adding that schools were also obliged to provide additional school hours of two subject hours per day.
