Indonesia president threatens to sack fire fighters if forest blazes not tackled

Agustinus Beo Da Costa Reuters 6 Aug 19;

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo threatened on Tuesday to sack military and police officers fighting forest fires if they fail to extinguish the flames. He also promised government funds for high-tech equipment like drones to help tackle the blazes.

The Southeast Asian country has deployed thousands of military and police to douse forest fires after declaring an emergency in six provinces on the island of Sumatra and in the province of Kalimantan on Borneo.

“I phoned the military commander and the chief of police to tell them to replace those who can’t resolve forest and land fires,” Widodo told a co-ordinating meeting on tackling forest fires at the presidential palace.

“Never underestimate hot spots. Immediately put out a small fire, don’t wait until it gets bigger,” Widodo said.

Indonesian farmers use fire to clear land during the dry season but they can rage out of control and produce a choking haze that spreads to neighbors such as Singapore and Malaysia.

Indonesia has recorded the highest number of hot spots this year since devastating fires in 2015 and faces global pressure to put an end to slash-and-burn clearance of land, often to plant palm and pulp plantations.

The president, who will make an official visit to Malaysia and Singapore this week, noted complaints about haze were once again making headlines in neighboring countries.

Malaysian authorities last week issued advisories warning the public to avoid open burning and outdoor activities, after forest fires broke out in Indonesia.

On Monday, Malaysia’s environment ministry said in a statement it would call on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take measures to prevent transboundary haze when five Southeast Asian countries meet in Brunei this week.

Indonesia has detected 975 hot spots so far this year, with 135,000 hectares of land burned across 18 provinces, said Indonesia’s Chief Security Minister Wiranto, who attended the meeting.

President Widodo said that hot spots should be detected using modern equipment like drones.

“If (the regional government budget) can’t afford it, I’ll buy it for you,” said Widodo.

Indonesian authorities have pledged to use aircraft for water bombing and cloud seeding to fight the fires.

Drought has hit large parts of the archipelago as a mild El Nino weather pattern disrupts the dry season, weather officials say, with its peak now expected to run from mid-August to mid-September.

This month, Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld a judgment against Widodo, cabinet ministers and provincial governors that attributed blame over their handling of the 2015 fires.

Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by Tabita Diela; Editing by Ed Davies and Neil Fullick

Jokowi emphasizes preventive measures in tackling forest, land fires
Marchio Irfan Gorbiano The Jakarta Post 7 Aug 19;

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has instructed the relevant authorities to prioritize preventive measures in dealing with forest and land fires amid reports of a returning haze crisis affecting neighboring Malaysia.

"Do not underestimate the presence of hot spots. If fires break out, immediately extinguish them and do not wait until they spread," said Jokowi in the State Palace on Tuesday.

Jokowi, who was speaking during a coordination meeting on forest and land fires involving the relevant stakeholders, called on regional administrations, the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) to cooperate in tackling forest and land fires in vulnerable provinces.

The government has currently assigned emergency alert status to six out of 18 provinces prone to forest and land fires, namely Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, activating the deployment of special task forces in the respective provinces to deal with forest and land fires.

Jokowi emphasized measures such as daily hot spot and peatland ecosystem monitoring as key actions in tackling the fires.

The Terra Aqua Modis satellite detected 2,070 hot spots between January and July this year, up by 54.71 percent from 1,338 hotspots recorded over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite paint a different picture as the number of hot spots are down by 10.46 percent to 975 between January and July compared to 1,077 hot spots detected over the same period in 2018.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Minister Wiranto said the government would step up its coordination in hot spot detection and the deployment of first responders on the ground in provinces prone to forest and land fires.