Antara 26 Jun 19
Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA) - The Indonesian military will join efforts to halt recurrences of land and forest fires in South Sumatra Province during this year's dry season by regularly conducting public awareness campaigns in several districts.
The campaigns regarding the importance of taking precautionary measures have been conducted in districts such as Banyuasin and Ogan Komering Ilir, Chief of the 044/Garuda Dempo Military Resort Command, Major Binsar J Simanjuntak, said on Wednesday.
Speaking to local journalists here, Simanjuntak said precautionary measures were also taken by the land and forest fire task force by monitoring vulnerable areas.
The same preventive measures have also been taken by the Banyuasin district military command.
South Sumatra and numerous other provinces in Indonesia's Sumatra Island have been repeatedly challenged and threatened by haze, triggered by land and forest fires, over the past years.
Considering this challenging reality, the South Sumatra police have warned plantation companies and farmers in the province against using slash and burn farming methods during this year's dry season to avoid the recurrences of land and forest fires.
"The community members and plantation companies found conducting burn farming methods will be punished," the South Sumatra Police Headquarters spokesman, Senior Commissioner Supriadi, said.
Slash and burn agriculture is completely prohibited because it can trigger occurrences of land and forest fires that cause a haze crisis.
The smog does not harm the health of the local people but is a problem for neighboring countries because it potentially threatens their people's health and aviation activities, he said.
Supriadi said the owners of farmlands potentially gutted by fire during the dry season should remain cautious. They have been asked to build canal blockings, and prepare water storage facilities and keep fire extinguishers handy.
The owners of farmlands who violate the law would be legally sanctioned, he said, adding that the areas of Banyuasin, Musi Banyuasin, Ogan Komering Ilir, and Ogan Ilir Districts are vulnerable to occurrences of land and forest fires. EDITED BY INE
Reporter: Ujang Idrus, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Eliswan Azly
South Sumatra police warn plantation companies
Antara 26 Jun 19;
"The community members and plantation companies who are found conducting the burn farming methods will be punished," the South Sumatra Police Headquarters' spokesman, Senior Commissioner Supriadi, said here Wednesday.
Palembang, S Sumatra, (ANTARA) - The South Sumatra police have warned plantation companies and farmers in the province against conducting slash and burn farming methods during this year's dry season to avoid the recurrence of land and forest fires. "The community members and plantation companies who are found conducting the burn farming methods will be punished," the South Sumatra Police Headquarters' spokesman, Senior Commissioner Supriadi, said here Wednesday.
The slash and burn agriculture is completely prohibited because it can trigger land and forest fires that cause haze and pollution.
The smog does not harm the health of the locals but neighboring countries have complained of health hazards to their people and the effect on aviation activities, he said.
The owners of farmlands potentially gutted during the dry season should remain cautious, Supriadi said. They have been asked to build canal blockings, and prepare water storage and keep fire extinguishers.
The owners of farmlands who violate the law would be legally sanctioned, he said, adding that the areas of Banyuasin, Musi Banyuasin, Ogan Komering Ilir, and Ogan Ilir Districts are vulnerable to the occurrence of land and forest fires.
In another development, South Sumatra's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has taken precautionary measures by increasing surveillance in several villages in four districts to prevent bush and forest fires in the dry season.
The surveillance mechanism was stepped up since the districts of Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir, Banyuasin, and Musi Banyuasin were repeatedly ravaged by bush and forest fires, Head of the South Sumatra BPBD Iriansyah stated.
His office has added 1,500 personnel comprising those from the BPBD along with the local military and police. During the course of the last few years, 7,649 personnel had undertaken surveillance and mitigation efforts, he said.
With an increase in the personnel, the recurrence of bush and forest fires can be prevented, he remarked, adding that 756 Incident Command Posts will also be reactivated.
South Sumatra and numerous other provinces in Indonesia's Sumatra Island have been repeatedly challenged and threatened by haze, triggered by land and forest fires, over the past years.
Due to this, apart from mitigation efforts, the government has also been adopting preventive measures in the form of restoring peatland areas in South Sumatra, spanning some 594,231 hectares.
The peatland restoration process is expected to be completed in 2020, Head of the Regional PeatLand Restoration Team Najib Asmani had revealed.
The peatlands covered in the restoration program are located in the seven districts of Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir, Banyuasin, Muaraenim, Penungkal Abab Lematang Ilir, Musi Banyuasin, and Musirawas, he revealed.
The seven districts have wide peatlands, he stated, adding that the districts of Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir, and Banyuasin are prone to forest fires that will also ravage peatlands.
Therefore, a long-term preventive measure is deemed necessary in the form of restoration and re-wetting or dampening of peatlands, he emphasized.
Reporter: Yudi Abdullah, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Riau Fire Free Village program covers 600,000 hectares
Antara 26 Jun 19;
The Fire-Free Village Program is a form of support from PT RAPP and the April Group in helping the government to prevent and overcome forest fires (Kahutla) that occur in Riau Province.
Pekanbaru (ANTARA) - The Fire Free Village Program (FFVP) that has been running for the past five years in Riau Province has reached five districts covering 600,000 hectares that are prone to forest and land fires. "Of the 53 villages that have been reached, 30 of them entered the fire-free village stage which covers 600,000 hectares," said PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) President Director Sihol Aritonang at Pangkalan Kerinci, Pelalawan, Riau, Wednesday.
The Fire-Free Village Program is a form of support from PT RAPP and the April Group in helping the government to prevent and overcome land and forest fires (Kahutla) that occur in Riau Province. The program has now been running in five Karhutla-prone districts such as Bengkalis, Pelalawan, Indragiri Hilir, Meranti and Siak.
Every year, villages that have succeeded in freeing themselves from Karhutla will receive funds in the form of infrastructure development assistance worth Rp100 million. Management of the funds is handed over to the village to build the required infrastructure.
The program has succeeded in fostering the awareness of the people living in villages around the company's operational areas of the dangers and impacts of fires, especially the use of slash-and-burn methods to open agricultural land.
As a result, the incidence of fires every year in the FFVP area continues to decrease. In 2014, the burned area reached 0.18 percent of the total area covered. "While in 2015, 2016 and 2017, they fell to 0.01 percent, 0.07 percent and 0.03 percent respectively. In 2018, the area that was burned black decreased to 0.02 percent of the total area covered," he said.
In 2019, the Fire Free Village Program was expanded to include nine new villages and also involved PT Sumatera Riang Lestari, which is a partner of the largest paper company in Riau.
Of the nine villages, three of them were guided by RAPP namely Rangsang, Sungai Ara and Pangkalan Terap located in Pelalawan District. While six villages are under SRL, namely the Terkul and Batu Panjang Villages in Bengkalis District, Tanjung Medang and Sungai Gayung Kiri in the Meranti Islands District and Teluk Kiambang and Karya Tunas Jaya in Inhil District.
In addition to embracing nine new villages, the company also presented an award of Rp100 million which was used for the purposes of building local village infrastructure. The nine villages are Dedap, Kudap, Bagan Melibur, Mayang Sari, Mekar Sari, Mekar Delima, Pelantai, Bumi Asri, and Teluk Belitung.
"The last three years we have not experienced a big fire. Even though there are, but not disturbing, it does not cause children to stop school and the economy runs well," The head of Riau's Environment and Forestry Service, Ervin Rizaldi said.
Rizaldi hopes that the program can continue to be improved by reaching more Karhutla-prone villages. He said that most of the villages in Riau are on peat so it is very prone to burning when entering the dry season.
Reporter: Anggi Romadhoni/Eliswan Azly
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
