Indonesia Forest fires continue to rage
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Indonesia Forest fires continue to rage*
08 Oct 2006 07:56:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Ed Davies
JAKARTA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Forest fires were still raging across
Indonesia on Sunday, with visibility cut to as low as 30 metres (100 ft)
in parts of Borneo island, forcing cars to use headlights and throwing
air travel into chaos.
The fires concentrated on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are a
regular occurence in the dry season but appear to have worsened this
year with more fires on highly flammable peatland and amid a hot spell
ahead of the start of rains due this month.
Thick haze blowing across from Sumatra prompted Singapore to post a
health advisory on Saturday, warning people to scale back vigorous
outdoor activity.
The situation was better on Sunday, with Singapore's three-hour average
Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) down as low as 27, after hitting a
nine-year high of 150 on Saturday, the National Environment Agency's Web
site (www.nea.gov.sg) showed.
A spokeswoman at the agency said that south-southeasterly winds had
blown some of the haze away from Singapore, but warned that it could
only be a temporary shift.
"We expect that later in the afternoon it could shift in a
south-southwesterly direction again," she said.
In the town of Palangkaraya in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province
on Borneo, visibility fell as low as 30-50 metres, according to El
Shinta radio.
Cars used headlights to avoid accidents, while flights were delayed by
four-five hours at the town's airport of Cilik Riwut.
The Antara state news agency said the air pollution index in the town
was at the "dangerous" level and people were having to wear protective
face masks even in their homes.
Fires were also still raging in the Sebangau National Park in the province.
INDONESIAN TASK FORCE
A task force of Indonesian officials arrived in Kalimantan on Sunday to
assess the situation.
Purwasto, head of forest fire control at Indonesia's environment
ministry, told Reuters en route to Palangkaraya that the team would look
at the situation for one or two days.
In Sumatra, haze stopped boats carrying food staples to remote parts of
the province from navigating the Musi river, with visibility cut to 200
metres, Metro TV reported.
This year's haze has rekindled memories of the choking smoke that
covered large areas of Southeast Asia in 1997-98, making many people
sick and costing local economies billions of dollars. The fires over
that period were estimated to have destroyed 5 million hectares (12
million acres) -- an area equivalent to Costa Rica.
In Malaysia, several areas in southern Johor state near Singapore were
still recording unhealthy pollution levels on Sunday, while the
situation in other areas was better.
Thailand also reported light smoke in southern parts of the country and
the governnment-run Thai News Agency said masks were given to people in
Satun province.
FRUSTRATED NEIGHBOURS
Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin said
the government would not protect any local plantation firms involved in
open burning in Indonesia.
Timber and oil palm plantation companies are accused of lighting fires
to clear land for planting.
Farmers, too, use slash-and-burn methods, a traditional practice
magnified by a growing population, demand for land and vast areas of
forest that have been cleared in recent decades.
It is illegal to carry out slash-and-burn land clearing in Indonesia,
but prosecutions take time and few have stuck.
Indonesia's neighbours have been sounding increasingly frustrated over a
situation that Jakarta has long vowed to fix.
Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was quoted as saying by
Channel News Asia that the island state would register its concerns with
Indonesia's foreign ministry.
"I just hope that next year, the Indonesians will understand our
concerns and do something about the haze, or do something about the fire
before it is started by farmers and plantation owners", Goh said.
(Additional reporting by Ade Mardiyati in JAKARTA, Mia Shanley in
SINGAPORE, Syed Azmin in KUALA LUMPUR and Orathai Sriring in BANGKOK)