Plantations Firms under Investigation Over Fires
10/3/97
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Headline: Plantations Firms under Investigation Over Fires
Source: Agence France-Presse
Date: 10/3/97
Byline: Bhimanto Suwastoyo
Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA, Oct 3 (AFP) - The Indonesian government, criticised by
its Asian neighbours over a poisonous smog engulfing the region, on
Friday revoked the permit of 29 private forestry firms in a bid to
control raging forest fires.
The forestry ministry revoked 151 permits issued to 29 private
companies after they failed to meet an October 2 deadline to deny
charges that they were engaged in slash and burn practices, the
Antara news agency quoted the ministry's director-general for forest
protection, Sumarsono (eds: one name) as saying.
Agriculture Minister Sjarifudin Baharshah summoned executives of
atleast 14 unidentified firms on Friday, as rain partially
alleviated the haze in Indonesia.
The state Antara news agency said sanctions against offending
companies would depend on the extent of their violations, adding
that their number might increase pending an official inquiry.
Baharshah was quoted as saying the ministry would take its own
action against the companies and could also recommend they be
sanctioned by other agencies, Antara said.
President Suharto has apologized to other countries and declared
the infernos a national disaster.
Baharshah also said the ministry would introduce new regulations
to ban plantation firms clearing land through slash-and-burn
methods.
Forest fires used to clear land have been blamed for the smog
that has blanketed large swathes of southeast Asia.
Long-awaited rains fell in several parts of the country, in the
grip of its worst drought in 50 years, allowing essential services
to resume operating, officials and reports said.
Heavy rain fell on Balikpapan, on the Indonesian section of
Borneo island, allowing the airport to open.
But a local official said that although visibility was now
around 2,500 metres (1.5 miles) the airport was only open to planes
equipped with instrument landing systems.
The airport at Pontianak, in southwestern Borneo, was open as
normal.
However a Malaysian expert warned Friday that the problems could
worsen because of a prolonged drought.
"The worst is yet to come. The peat swamp is now burning on its
own because it is so dry," Tan Meng Leng, director-general of the
Department of Environment (DOE), told a news conference.
Tan urged the Indonesian authorities to mobilise more resources
to put out the fire. "More would be expected of them. Not only for
their neighbours but for their own sake," he said.
Around 1,000 Malaysian firefighters have joined thousands of
Indonesian soldiers and civilians attempting to put out the forest
blazes.
But experts said only prolonged heavy rain could end the crisis.
And much of lower Sumatra remained enshrouded.
Airports in Jambi, Padang and Pekanbaru were still closed
because of low visibility, officials said.
The thickest haze was in Jambi. The meteorology office there
reported visibility of just 20 metres (70 feet).
The haze has also begun to black out the sky in Indonesian
regions previously unaffected.
In Cianjur, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of Jakarta,
haze began to cloak the city Friday, leaving visibility to between
600 and 1,000 metres, the Suara Karya daily said.
The smoke is believed to come from fires in nearby mountains.
The Jakarta skies were overcast by smog early Friday, but
cleared later.
The head of Jakarta's environment supervision, Ali Rozi, was
quoted by the Media Indonesia daily as saying that as of September,
dust particle content in the capital had increased to up to 0.34
milligrams per cubic meter, above the safe level of 0.26 miligrams.
Rozi said the increase was mainly due to the prolonged drought
and from construction, industry and transport pollution.
Fires are reported to have broken out on Mount Lumajang on the
eastern side of Java island, shrouding the sky of the nearby town of
Kediri with smoke, the Media Indonesia daily said.
Fires also razed some 14,500 hectares (35,815 acres) of forest
and fields in several islands in the Nusa Tenggara group in eastern
Indonesia, the Suara Karya said.
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