Channel NewsAsia 23 Jul 19;
JAKARTA: The Attorney-General of Indonesia on Monday (Jul 22) defended the government after the country's Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling which blamed President Joko Widodo and his cabinet ministers, as well as regional administrations, for failing to control the wildfires in 2015.
The wildfires which raged through Indonesia in 2015 caused thick haze to engulf the country and neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia, the Jakarta Post reported on Monday.
“The conclusion is the government should fulfil its obligation to protect its citizens against the disaster," said Supreme Court spokesman Abdullah after the ruling on Friday. "It should work on necessary efforts to stop wildfires from happening."
Attorney-General H M Prasetyo on Monday said the government has acted to tackle the wildfires issue.
"Recent statistics show that forest fires have decreased in numbers. Many individuals and companies have also been charged in court, and will eventually be convicted," he said, as quoted by online news outlet Merdeka.
The lawsuit was filed by environmentalists and residents of Central Kalimantan, who were among the most affected by the disaster, the Jakarta Post reported. It urged the government to take responsibility for the wildfires and for the treatment of survivors.
Intense fires raged across more than 330,000 hectares of forests and lands in 2015, reported Antara news agency, citing data from Indonesia's disaster agency (BNPB).
A 2016 study by Harvard and Columbia universities estimated about 100,000 people across Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia died prematurely from the pollution as a result of the fires - a claim which the Indonesian government has rejected.
The study claims the pollution exposure killed about 91,600 people in Indonesia, 6,500 in Malaysia and 2,200 in Singapore in 2015 and 2016, which is significantly higher than government records.
Local environmentalists also estimated that the disaster caused around 500,000 cases of acute respiratory infection, the Jakarta Post reported.
The ruling upheld by the country's highest court ordered the President, along with the environment and forestry minister, health minister and Central Kalimantan governor, to build a lung hospital that provides free treatment for the 2015 haze survivors, the report added. Other hospitals in Central Kalimantan were also told to provide free treatment for the victims.
The government was also ordered to disclose the companies which owned the burnt lands, and the amount of each company's environmental guarantee fund.
Responding to the ruling, presidential chief of staff Moeldoko said the government has made some efforts to extinguish and prevent wildfires, and that it will file for a case review.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar defended the government's work in tackling wildfires, citing tougher law enforcement on individuals as well as companies suspected of causing the fires.
Riesqi Rahmadiansyah, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, denounced the government's intention to file for a case review.
The plan for a review has also invited criticism from activists.
“The least they can do is to accept the ruling and match what they have done with our demands in the lawsuit," said Greenpeace Indonesia's Arie Rompas, as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
READ: Several Indonesian regions warned of forest fires, drought during dry season: Report
Last month, Indonesia's weather agency (BMKG) warned that this year's dry spell could be worse than the previous year's.
The government on Thursday urged 11 provinces prone to land and forest fires to impose emergency alert status. This comes after five provinces declared the status, based on Indonesian weather agency's (BMKG) forecast.
The province of Riau, located west of Singapore and West Malaysia, is among the five provinces.
Source: CNA/Reuters/jt(mi)
Indonesians hope 'milestone' ruling will dampen haze-fire risks
Michael Taylor Reuters 23 Jul 19;
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Green groups have urged the Indonesian government to step up help for hundreds of thousands of people made sick by forest fires and the haze they cause each year, after the nation’s top court ruled Jakarta must do more to stem the problem.
The Supreme Court last week upheld rulings by lower courts on a civil lawsuit brought by seven Indonesian residents against President Joko Widodo, cabinet ministers and local governments over their handling of forest fires in 2015.
“The government can learn from what happened in 2015 and now needs to do some serious homework for the future,” said Nur Hidayati, executive director of Friends of the Earth Indonesia.
Hidayati told the Thomson Reuters Foundation it was the first ruling by the Supreme Court on the state’s constitutional responsibilities relating to fires and haze, describing the verdict as a “big milestone for Indonesian citizens”.
Drifting haze from fires to prepare land for plantations that supply the palm oil, paper and wood pulp industries is a regular and serious problem across Southeast Asia, particularly between the months of July and November.
In 2015, one of the worst peatland and forest fire crises blanketed much of the region with a thick haze, causing billions of dollars in economic losses.
In a 2016 report, the World Bank said 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres) in Indonesia were burned between June and October 2015, mainly on Sumatra and Borneo islands.
A Harvard University study linked the haze to more than 100,000 premature deaths in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in 2015, a year of particularly intense fire activity.
“The conclusion is the government should fulfil its obligation to protect its citizens against the disaster,” a Supreme Court spokesman was quoted as saying by local media.
“It should work on necessary efforts to stop wildfires from happening.”
The environment and forestry minister and Central Kalimantan governor were ordered to publicly name companies that owned land where the 2015 fires broke out, reports said.
The ruling said the president should issue regulations providing guidance on compensation for damage in such cases.
The government should also build a lung hospital for the 2015 haze victims, according to the ruling, while other hospitals were directed to provide them with free health care.
Indonesian Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar did not respond to requests for comment.
“Every year new generations of Indonesians are exposed to fires and haze,” said Arie Rompas, a Central Kalimantan resident and Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner who was part of the lawsuit.
“Indonesia’s communities have had enough - they need real government leadership that is serious about putting an end to the forest fires and their health and environmental impacts, once and for all,” she said in a statement.
Indonesia’s government switched its focus from containing fires to preventing them after the 2015 disaster, which cost the country $16 billion and caused more than 500,000 people to suffer respiratory ailments.
New policies include educating and training communities in fire prevention and setting up a Peatland Restoration Agency.
Forest and peatland fires in Indonesia declined dramatically over the last two years, but more work was needed, said David Gaveau, a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research.
“It became evident during the 2015 fires that the government cannot address this problem alone,” he said.
Hidayati said she hoped the court ruling would ignite a wider debate on the need for better care for haze victims.
“Putting out fires and law enforcement is important, but what is still lacking is how the victims pay for disasters for a long period of time afterwards,” she said by phone from Jakarta.
