Antara 7 Sep 15;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia can be freed from the haze disaster if it implements several preventive measures and involves the people, according to Willem Rampangilei, the new chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
"I am convinced we can overcome it, but I cannot reply if questioned on how long it will take. This is because there are several factors that lead to forest and land fires. Humans who set ablaze forest and peatland areas are one of the causes of the fires," Rampangilei remarked.
He made the statement after being installed by President Joko Widodo as the agencys head on Monday. He succeeds Syamsul Maarif as the new head of BNPB.
Rampangilei affirmed that anticipatory steps should be taken before forest fires occurred by spreading awareness among the people on the dangers of forest and land fires.
He said that the haze resulting from forest fires posed a serious threat not only to the economy but also to the health of the people, particularly to expecting mothers and children under five years of age.
"Besides this, the delays in flights at several airports caused losses that have to be borne by the airline operators," the new BNPB chief pointed out.
Regarding the commitment to handling the haze disaster, he noted that the president had issued an instruction for handling the haze problem.
However, he declined to divulge further details on the steps he plans to take to free Indonesians from haze since he was still waiting for an official hand over of the post from the former chief, which will be held on Thursday.
The Democrat Party has urged the government to take swift steps to mitigate the haze disaster in several provinces in Indonesia.
"We urge the government to conduct coordination, adopt a proper action plan, and cooperate with regional governments to overcome the haze problem as soon as possible," Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Partys Central Executive Board, Sjarifuddin Hasan, stated at a press conference here on Sunday.
The haze resulting from land and forest fires in the provinces of South Sumatra, Riau, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan have had a negative impact on the peoples economy, the environment, the education sector, and the publics health, he noted.
Chief of the Democrat Party faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono meanwhile lauded President Widodos plan to visit the South Sumatra provincial capital of Palembang to monitor the haze disaster mitigation efforts.
"By going to the field, the government has shown its positive intent," he affirmed.
However, the governments actions to deal with the haze were a bit late. He urged President Widodo to take anticipatory steps to prevent the haze disaster from recurring in the future, he added.
President Widodo arrived at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Sunday to check the preparations to mitigate the haze disaster in the province.
Shortly after arriving at the airport, the president and his entourage headed straight to the meeting room at the airport to hold a closed-door meeting to coordinate forest and land fire mitigation efforts in the province.
The president informed reporters that the closed-door meeting was held to only discuss the efforts to mitigate hotspots to prevent them from spreading.(*)
Stern law enforcement needed to tackle forest fires
Fardah Antara 8 Sep 15;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The problem of haze has been getting worse on Sumatra Island, forcing flight delays and temporary school shutdowns, and affecting the publics overall health.
As of Monday morning, a total of 413 hotspots were detected across Sumatra Island. Riau Province had 45 hotspots, Bengkulu had five hotspots, Jambi had 170, Lampung had 31, South Sumatra had 79, West Sumatra had four, Bangka Belitung had 77, and two hotspots were found in Riau Islands.
For the past 18 years, Riau has been affected by the haze arising from forest and plantation fires on an annual basis. Over the last week, visibility in parts of Riau had dropped to between 200 and 800 meters.
Feeling concerned with the environmental disaster and its impact on the publics health, hundreds of students from Riau University in Pekanbaru staged a rally on Monday to express five demands from the government regarding the haze disasters.
Firstly, the government should declare a haze emergency since the haze disaster has affected public health, the field coordinator of the rally, Siti Lestari, noted.
The students also urged the authorities to take legal action against plantation companies found guilty of setting fires that have razed thousands of hectares of forest and plantation areas in Riau Province.
The haze problem has repeatedly occurred due to weak legal enforcement, she pointed out.
The students also emphasized that hospitals must offer free medical services to those affected by the haze, particularly patients suffering from respiratory infections.
"Inhabitants, who become victims of the haze, must not pay for medical services to treat their respiratory infections," she reiterated.
As Riaus inhabitants are still reeling under the impact of the haze, the government must help the victims, the students have demanded.
In fact, the Indragiri Hulu Police detained five persons earlier on Monday for allegedly setting fire to plantation areas that had produced the haze affecting the Riau Province.
"They must take responsibility for their actions, which is making local inhabitants restless," Adjunct Commissioner, Taufik Suwardi, from the Indragiri Hulu police resort, said.
The police will indiscriminately penalize anyone who is found deliberately setting fire to forests or plantation areas, he stated.
"We will impose stern sanctions," he said.
Since January 2015, the Indragiri Hulu police have arrested five farmers for opening farming areas by using fire.
The arrests of the arsonists is in line with an instruction from President Joko Widodo, who has ordered security agencies to take action against companies, which have burnt down the fields that had caused a haze in six provinces.
"I have ordered the national police chief to take the sternest possible action against companies that violate the law," he said while inspecting the forest fires in the Pulau Geronggang village of Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, on Sunday.
President Widodo also reminded all ministries/institutions, TNI military/police, and related offices that prevention is the best policy.
He emphasized that companies violating the law must be held responsible, adding that he had on several earlier occasions cautioned many plantation companies that harsh action will be taken against those found guilty of setting fire to their fields.
The head of state stressed that companies must also be responsible for the areas around their fields.
Furthermore, South Sumatra Governor, Alex Noerdin, is expected to call plantation managers, including those from Ogan Komering Ilir, to address the issue of forest and plantation fires in the province.
The meeting will also discuss the causes of and solution for the fires, the Governor stated on Monday.
The provincial authorities have intensified efforts to put out the fires through land and air operations. Water bombing has been conducted over areas being ravaged by the fires, the Governor stated.
In response to the press questions, the Governor remarked that he would consider the revocation of plantation business permits as necessary action if needed.
However, Noerdin said he would first study whether the authority for doing the same lay in the hands of the Governor or the district heads.
Due to the wildfires, operations at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru are also nearly paralyzed as the haze has forced a delay in hundreds of flights scheduled since early September.
Haze reduced visibility to 200 meters on Sunday, forcing delays for flights at the airport. At noon, flight schedules were resumed as visibility improved to one thousand meters.
Pekanbaru Airport has also opened a health post for passengers exposed to haze arising from Sumatras forest fires.
"We have readied medicines and masks for outgoing and arriving passengers," the Coordinator for the second-class airport of Pekanbaru, Albert Jefferson, noted.
The health post will continue to operate as long as the haze affects the city, Jefferson noted.
In the meantime, the haze arising from bush fires had reduced visibility in the Pelalawan District, Riau Province, to 50 meters on Monday.
"Pelalawan is the worst affected by haze, with visibility reduced to 50 meters," Sugarin, the head of the Pekanbaru meteorology office, said.
Fires in Lampung Province, which were reportedly intentionally set, have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest area in the Way Kambas National Park located in East Lampung District.
"Currently, one location in the Section III of the Way Kambas National Park is still on fire," Antonius Febri, the head of the parks Section III, confirmed on Sunday.
He suspected that the fires were deliberately lit by poachers operating in the park.
A team comprising the parks personnel, rangers, and military officials have also been making efforts to put out the fires.
Over 400 hectares of forest area in the parks Section III have been destroyed by the fires since June.
"In Section III of Way Penet, a forest area measuring 400 to 500 hectares was razed by the fires," he pointed out.
The Way Kambas National Park is divided into three sections: Section I in Way Kanan, Section II in Way Bungur, and Section III in Way Penet.
In fact, forest fires have not only hit Sumatra Islands at present, but also Kalimantan and Java Islands, particularly in the Central and South Kalimantan Provinces.
President Joko Widodo has ordered to activate command posts to control and tackle forest fires that trigger haze problems in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
"The President has ordered the opening of four command posts in Kalimantan and four in Sumatra," former Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Syamsul Maarif, stated on Sept. 4, after attending a limited cabinet meeting led by the President at the State Palace.
Maarif remarked that four measures had to be adopted to deal with the smoke arising from bush fires, include extinguishing the fires as early as possible, ensuring law enforcement, undertaking health efforts, and informing the public to not set fire for land-clearing activities.
President Jokowi also removed Syamsul Maarif and installed Willem Rampangilei as the new BNPB chief on Monday afternoon.
Minister/State Secretary, Pratikno, said Maarif had been relieved of his responsibilities as he had been holding the post for a long time, while Rampangilei was appointed due to his competency and experience.
"It is just a routine rotation and normal because Mr. Maarif has been the BNPB chief for a long time," the minister clarified.(*)
police detain 5 arsonists in plantation fire case
Antara 7 Sep 15;
Rengat, Riau (ANTARA News) - The Indragiri Hulu police have detained five people for allegedly setting fire to plantation areas that has produced the haze affecting Riau Province.
"They must take responsibility for their actions, which are making local inhabitants restless," Adjunct Commissioner, Taufik Suwardi, of the Indragiri Hulu police resort said on Monday.
The police will indiscriminately sanction anyone, who is found deliberately setting fire to forests or plantation areas, he stated.
"We will impose stern sanctions," he said.
Since January 2015, the Indragiri Hulu police have arrested five farmers for opening farming areas by using fire.
In the meantime, President Joko Widodo has ordered security agencies to take action against companies, which have burnt down fields that has caused haze in six provinces.
"I have ordered the national police chief to take the sternest possible action against companies that violate the laws," he said while inspecting the forest fire in the Pulau Geronggang village in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, on Sunday.
President Widodo also reminded all ministries/institutions, TNI (military)/police, and related offices that prevention is the best policy.
He emphasized that companies violating the law must be held responsible, adding that he had on several earlier occasions cautioned many plantation companies that harsh actions would be taken against those found guilty of setting fires to their fields.
The head of state affirmed that companies must also be responsible for the areas around their fields.(*)
Indonesia appoints new disaster mitigation chief
Willem Rampangilei's appointment as the head of the national disaster mitigation agency comes as the country struggles to contain the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Sujadi Siswo, Channel NewsAsia 7 Sep 15;
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has replaced the head of the national disaster mitigation agency or BNPB.
Willem Rampangilei, a former rear-admiral from the Indonesian Navy, replaces Syamsol Maarif - also a former military general - who has headed the agency since 2008. Willem said his strategy ahead is to focus on prevention and community involvement.
Willem's appointment comes as the country is struggling to contain the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, which is a yearly occurrence during the dry months. He said the fires were man-man and can be prevented.
"We all know the smoke disaster has been happening for 17 years. Maybe we should step up prevention and our emergency response,” said Willem. “We have to improve early warning and early detection before the fire breaks out. There is also a need for socialisation, making people understand the dangers of fire."
Smoke from the fire has enveloped 80 per cent of Sumatra. It is posing health risks, with schools forced to close and airports shut down as visibility dropped to less than 500 metres.
President Widodo has set up a national task force to deal with the forest fire, with the smoke affecting neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
The Indonesian leader visited one of the affected areas in South Sumatra on Sunday (Sep 6). He has instructed the police to take stern action against perpetrators who intentionally set fire to plantations for land-clearing purposes.
According to Indonesia's forestry minister, police have cordoned off areas that have been burned in South Sumatra and will soon identify their owners. Similar actions would follow for Riau and Jambi, two other areas that are badly affected.
However, in previous cases, it was difficult to bring the perpetrators to justice because of lack of evidence. Even if they were prosecuted, the sentence may be too lenient to act as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
The current dry spell is expected to stretch until November due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
- CNA/ec
Joko visits haze ground zero
The Star 8 Sep 15;
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited South Sumatra province for a first-hand look at forest fires that have been causing the worst haze in the past few days, as officials continue water-bombing and cloud- seeding efforts.
He was accompanied by the police chief, military chief, head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and a senior Environment and Forestry Ministry official on a last-minute trip on Sunday aimed at stepping up the urgency of putting out the fires.
“I’ve ordered the police chief to get very tough on companies that do not comply with the law... and instructed the Forestry Minister to revoke (their) licences once they are found guilty on criminal charges,” said Joko, who arrived in Palembang where he was met by the province’s governor Alex Noerdin.
“Do not let the widespread burning become difficult to overcome, and so I have said I no longer want to talk about the cause of the problem or what is the solution. Everyone knows what needs to be done.”
Joko made a stop to check on the progress of the Trans-Sumatra toll road before heading to areas most affected by land burning.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya is on her way back after cutting short an official trip to Norway for climate change talks.
The visit by Joko, who went to Riau last November, comes at a time when forest fires have peaked during an El Nino-linked dry spell.
So far, six provinces – Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra in Sumatra and three others in Kalimantan – have been put on emergency alert status as the number of hot spots shot up.
To speed up coordination to fight the fires, a central haze task force would be set up, according to the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s director-general Bambang Hendroyono.
The task force will involve governors of fire-prone provinces and their environmental authorities, he said.
BNPB reported visibility falling to just 200m in Pelalawan district in Riau yesterday morning. It was about 1km in Jambi.
As many as 13 helicopters are being used in water-bombing efforts and three Casa 212 aircraft for cloud-seeding across affected provinces, said BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
The air operation is being boosted by the loan of four Air Tractors from Australia which are fire-fighting aircraft capable of scooping large amounts of water and releasing them over fires.
One is already being used in Riau, said Dr Sutopo.
On the ground, there are some 1,500 people in each province from local disaster management agencies, police and army, or volunteer firemen from villages.
“We are tightening law enforcement through stepped-up vigilance by police and local government officials. Soldiers are patrolling plantation areas to guard the fire-prone areas,” Dr Sutopo said, adding that police had stepped up warnings against illegal land burning.
Police have caught 39 people suspected of illegal land burning this year and have sealed off their land.
Meanwhile, local media in Sumatra said organisations were distributing masks to motorists.
In South Sumatra, which had the most hot spots and land burning in the last few days, the health authorities reported 22,555 residents complaining of respiratory problems. The number in Riau was 1,002.
Flights at several airports, especially those in Riau’s capital city Pekanbaru, continued to be delayed and the erratic schedule prompted some residents to resort to travelling by land, even though this took longer. — The Straits Times /Asia News Network
New disaster chief for Indonesia
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times AsiaOne 8 Sep 15;
Indonesia swore in a new chief of its National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) yesterday, as the government steps up the fight against raging land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The number of fires has soared in recent weeks as the dry season takes hold, exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern that continues to strengthen. El Ninos typically reduce rainfall in South-east Asia and can cause severe drought, leaving forests ripe for severe fires.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo yesterday swore in retired two-star navy officer Willem Rampangilei, 59, who was previously a deputy to the coordinating minister for culture and human development, and in charge of disaster impacts and social affairs.
The outgoing BNPB chief, retired army general Syamsul Maarif, who has been at the helm of the agency since 2008, will officially hand over the job on Thursday.
Air quality has plunged in parts of Sumatra, and yesterday more than 300 students in Pekanbaru, Riau province, staged a street rally outside the governor's office demanding that the local government pressure Jakarta to send more military reinforcements to fight the blazes.
In Palembang, capital of South Sumatra province, air quality yesterday fluctuated between the levels of unhealthy and very unhealthy.
Mr Joko on Sunday visited South Sumatra for a first-hand look at forest fires and ordered Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, military chief Gatot Nurmantyo and the BNPB to step up firefighting efforts and accelerate prosecutions of anyone found guilty of lighting fires.
The military has added three more helicopters to the 14 already carrying out water-bombing operations in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Police have cordoned off 14 areas in Riau and have immediately started investigations.
Today and later this week, the authorities will descend on areas in South Sumatra and Jambi provinces where suspected intentional burning has taken place. The investigation will involve interviews with local residents and witnesses on how the fires started, said Mrs Siti, who attended Mr Willem's swearing-in at the presidential palace.
Mr Willem pledged to ensure fire-prevention efforts were more effective. "We need to strengthen our early-warning system, early-detection system, as well as spread the message to the residents about how dangerous forest fires are," he told reporters after the swearing-in. "We have to get more involvement from the residents to prevent fire."
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