Indonesian Forest Fires (~100,000 hectares burned already)
Sulistio Muljadi
This is an information about Indonesian forest fires that is happening
right now. According to some news, as much as 100,000 hectacres have been
burned. Kalimantan is one of the world's biggest rain forest. This fires
and the world's biggest forest fire in 1983-84 (which burn about 7 million
hectaacres (about...) ) will affect the greenhouse effect and global warming.
What can be done to stop this fires?
The 1983-84 great fires, no help was offered from the West.
No news was heard either. I know about this fire because I lived there
and experience the difficulty.
If you are interested, please subscribe to the South East Asia mailing list
address: SEAN...@NUSVM.BITNET and or indon...@janus.berkeley.edu
The information taken from South East Asia mailing list.
Thanks to those people who reported.
From @pucc.princeton.edu:SEAN...@NUSVM.BITNET Sun Oct 13 07:06:57 1991
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From: Elliott Parker <3ZLUFUR%CMUVM....@pucc.princeton.edu>
Subject: Forest fires
To: Multiple recipients of list SEANET-L <SEANET-L@nusvm>
Status: OR
>From Radio Australia, 13 Oct 1991 :
Fires continue to destroy rain forest in Kalimantan and Sumatra
spreading a dense pall of smoke over Malaysia, Singapore and NW
Indonesia. Although burning for six weeks, attention was gained only
when Malaysia's PM Mahathir mentioned it last week. Indonesia says
about 50,000 hectares have burned.
Indonesia has made no formal request for international aid,
although one western expert has said Indonesia's statements of the
last week have been a call for help.
The fires have been exacerbated by logging operations,
traditional slash-and-burn agriculture, an extended dry spell, and
inaccessible areas.
Experts said that as the fires continue to spread even the
upcoming wet season may not be enough to contain them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elliott Parker BITNET: 3ZLUFUR@CMUVM
Journalism Dept. Internet: epa...@well.sf.ca.us
Central Michigan University Compuserve: 70701,520
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859 USA
From @pucc.princeton.edu:SEAN...@NUSVM.BITNET Sun Oct 13 08:58:27 1991
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From: Indonesia Publications/Task Force <apakabar%IGC...@pucc.princeton.edu>
Subject: Re: Indonesian Forest Fires
To: Multiple recipients of list SEANET-L <SEANET-L@nusvm>
Status: OR
Here are two postings I chanced upon in Usenet's
soc.culture.asean newsgroup. The first is responsive
(tongue-in-cheek) to my question about how the ongoing
Indonesian forest fires are impacting ordinary people
in other countries. The second is responsive to my
question about how the Southeast Asian media are
covering the fires.
John (apak...@igc.org - Internet)
PS The Straits Times folk should know better than to
call Sumatra and Kalimantan "provinces" of Indonesia.
Apa boleh buat....
******************************************************
Topic 53hazy days are here again !
yolenghosoc.cult.asean 5:14 pm Oct 12, 1991
(at vms2.discs.nus.sg)(From News system)
in case you didn't know it, we here in South East Asia are hit
by the worst haze i have ever seen...sometimes, it so bad tat
you can smell it, and wonder if its the haze or someone having
a BBQ nearby...
even in sunny Singapore, the sun is not as bright as it
used to be, and the visibilty ain't wat it was either...
but its not all tat bad - at least the authorities say tat
the air is still healthy...
50,000 hectares of equatorial forest in Indonesia went up
in smoke...quite a disaster considering how little forests
the earth still has...
well, hope the air clears up real soon...breathing smoke
is not in vogue =-)
--
. kilroy .
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::: Christopher Yo - yole...@vms2.discs.nus.sg :::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
****************************************************************
Topic 50Forest fire in Indonesia
tanhwsoc.cult.asean 8:18 am Oct 12, 1991
(at vms.discs.nus.sg)(From News system)
C l e a r i n g t h e a i r
Straits Times's (Singapore) editorial
12 October, 1991
The environment can at the same time be the most forgiving
and the most unforgiving of influences on human life. When
it is forgiving, people do not think about it, even as they
go about abusing it; when it reminds them of its presence,
it overwhelms. The other characteristic of the environment
is that it is no respecter of national boundaries. Both
these facts have been dramatised by the haze that has
shrouded Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and southern Thailand
since mid-August. It has been caused by what amounts to a
minor ecological disaster: fires that have destroyed more
than 50,000 ha of rainforest in the Indonesian provinces of
Kalimatan and Sumatra. In Singapore, the haze at first
appeared to be a novelty, not a nice one but harmless on the
whole. But it soon worsened, and it also became apparent
that it was not going to go away soon. Unless it rains
heavily, the affected areas will have to wait for a change
in wind direction to be free of the haze. In the meanwhile,
bad visibility has affected air transport in Malaysia; in
Singapore, people are worried about what the haze means to
their health.
The haze provides an unwanted but nevertheless beneficial
opportunity for Asean countries to focus more clearly --
pardon the pun -- on environmental concerns of immediate
relevance to the region. There is no doubt that issues such
as global warming and the state of the ozone layer are
important; these can only be tackled globally. What is
necessary in Asean is to create a regional mechanism that
can go into action automatically when something like the
forest fires occurs. Malaysia's call for an urgent Asean
meeting to clear the haze underlines the need for such a
mechanism. Combined scientific and bureaucratic resources
are necessary to meet a problem whose solution is both
technical and administrative.
However, there is a sense in which the rest of the world
does have a role to play in resolving problems such as the
haze. One reason why the forest fires got out of control is
the reported absence of proper firefighting equipemnt and
people trained in their use -- resources the Western
countries are well endowed to provide. The West, which is
vociferous in criticising the environmental policies of
developing nations, could put its money where its mouth is
and help Indonesia meet the crisis. After all, if the
developing countries, which are economically least capable
of adopting stringent environmental policies, are expected
to play an important part in preserving the global
environment, it stands to reason that the West, the
beneficiary of the same global environment and also
well-positioned to help, should add its weight to efforts to
meet regional environmental crises though they might occur
far away.
In Singapore, the haze has highlighted the need for the
Environment Ministry to play a greater role in keeping
people informed of the implications of the problem. In a
welcome development, it has decided to take pollutant index
readings for the previous day at 6 pm and not at noon; many
Singaporeans had wondered about the validity and accuracy of
the index, which appeared to be more optimistic than the air
actually looked and felt towards dusk. Beyond this, there
is scope for more detailed analyses of what the haze
portends for the health of the general public, which kind of
health conditions put people at special risk from the haze
and whether and what precautions should be taken by people
in these categories. Nor is this only a matter of official
interest. The haze, in its own terrible way, reminds
Singaporeans that consciousness of environmental issues
should not be limited to those who are drawn to the
environment for scholarly or emotional reasons. The
environment is one of the few things on Earth which belong
to everyone; equally, everyone has a stake in it. Clear
ideas about environmental issues and responsibilities do
much to clear the exotic haze which, in some minds, hangs
over things environmental.
Nick Szabo
>What can be done to stop this fires?
To prevent future fires, log portions of the forest when they have
matured to the point of high fire risk. Replant. Build houses and
furniture out of what would otherwise become air pollution.
Oops, that benefits human civilization as well as the environment.
_Sorry_, I'll try to avoid such incorrectness in the future.
--
sz...@techbook.COM ...!{tektronix!nosun,uunet}techbook!szabo
Public Access UNIX at (503) 644-8135 (1200/2400) Voice: +1 503 646-8257
Public Access User --- Not affiliated with TECHbooks
Gary Coffman
>right now. According to some news, as much as 100,000 hectacres have been
>burned. Kalimantan is one of the world's biggest rain forest. This fires
>and the world's biggest forest fire in 1983-84 (which burn about 7 million
>hectaacres (about...) ) will affect the greenhouse effect and global warming.
>What can be done to stop this fires?
As ecologists are beginning to relearn, wildfire is a vital part of the
natural recycling system. Attempting to put out the fires could be considered
by some as meddling in the natural order of things. One of the US' great
natural parks recently became an unintended laboratory for studying the
effects of wildfire. After many years of fighting wildfires, the debris
limit was reached and an uncontrollable fire raged throughout the park.
Studies now show that the parkland is being revitalized by new growth
and new life that was being choked by the old stands. Natural renewal
cannot be denied, only managed or postponed.
The Indonesian forest has stood too long crown to crown, there is little
that can be done now to stop the natural purging.
Gary
Robert McArthur
>In article <911014215...@futon.SFSU.EDU> suli...@FUTON.SFSU.EDU (Sulistio Muljadi) writes:
>
>>What can be done to stop this fires?
>
>To prevent future fires, log portions of the forest when they have
>matured to the point of high fire risk. Replant. Build houses and
>furniture out of what would otherwise become air pollution.
>
>Oops, that benefits human civilization as well as the environment.
>_Sorry_, I'll try to avoid such incorrectness in the future.
Ignoring, of course, all the animals that need the old (not to metion burnt)
trees to nest in/hide in etc. Good thinking! Getting close to species
unversity (:-)
--
Robert McArthur Centre for Resource and Environment Studies
Australian National University
ACSNet r...@arp.anu.oz.au ACT Australia 2601
Pegasus|PeaceNet|EcoNet peg:robert (06) 249 4760
Tom Slone
In this case, however, you are probably incorrect. The fire in
question is much larger than the one in Yellowstone, and it follows
only a few short years after another massive fire on the other side of
the island. Both of the fires in Borneo are believed to be unnatural
and unfortunate. Archeological evidence in Borneo indicates that
massive fires occur only every few thousand years, but now there are
two within a period of ten years and no others in recent times.
Circumstantial evidence indicated that these two fires were a result of
over-logging in Borneo followed by drought; under normal circumstances,
a rainforest will prevent massive fires through it's action as a
massive sponge during times of drought. The sponge-effect has been
weakened in Borneo by overlogging and by clearing for resettlement
schemes.
--
pot...@violet.berkeley.edu
{decvax|hplabs|ihnp4|decwrl|nbires| \
sdcsvax|tektronix|ulysses}!ucbvax!violet!potency
Brett Kottmann
>...
> question is much larger than the one in Yellowstone, and it follows
> only a few short years after another massive fire on the other side of
> the island. Both of the fires in Borneo are believed to be unnatural
> and unfortunate. Archeological evidence in Borneo indicates that
> massive fires occur only every few thousand years, but now there are
> two within a period of ten years and no others in recent times.
> Circumstantial evidence indicated that these two fires were a result of
> over-logging in Borneo followed by drought; under normal circumstances,
> a rainforest will prevent massive fires through it's action as a
> massive sponge during times of drought. The sponge-effect has been
> weakened in Borneo by overlogging and by clearing for resettlement
> schemes.
I was under the impression that large forest fires happened much more
frequently--several times a century.
In any event, clear-cuts and over logging are definately part of the
problem. I was talking to a member of the US Forest Service a couple of weeks
ago and she said clear cuts are about the worst thing you can do to a forest.
They prevent animals from moving freely and result in large stands of uniform
growth in the clear cut areas--a forest fire hazard.
Brett
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jhu...@amb4.ese.ogi.edu
>I was talking to a member of the US Forest Service a couple of weeks
>ago and she said clear cuts are about the worst thing you can do to a forest.
Complete agreement here. Clear cuts are _deforestry_. Tree farming is not
forestry.
j
>They prevent animals from moving freely and result in large stands of uniform
>growth in the clear cut areas--a forest fire hazard.
The even aged stands do increase the tendency for crown fires. But I think the
worst aspect of clearcuts from a fire viewpoint is the heavy fuels loading
combined with the drying effect on the duff and litter on the ground. The
soil and downed woody debris dryout much faster, burn hotter, and light more
often..
Fires people talk about fire risk in terms of hours, so I've heard: a 100 hour
risk factor means the forest has dried the equivalent of 100 hours of noon
sun since the last rain (rough approximation, the actual analysis is a bit
more complex). Clearcuts boost the risk factor through the roof, since a
forest floor is not normally exposed (by definition) to full sun, while a
clearcut is.
One the last round about fires, I think I was too tough on Gary Coffman. I
more or less denied that the "classic" fire pattern he clung to was ever
realized. After talking with a specialist in boreal fire ecology and a couple
of foresters about it, I think the key element is the *temporal* aspect of the
fire regime. Jack pines and lodgepole pines, and probably other short cycle
forests do observe more of the stand replacement fires Gary saw as the norm.
Fire regime is defined by frequency, intensity, and fire resistance of the
species present. But this applies only to a limited subset of forest types.
Jim