Subject: BIOD: Indonesian Burning Intensifies
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Indonesian Burning Intensifies
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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/
10/17/97
OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE
Here are four updates from various sources of the Indonesian forest
catastrophe. Far from being over, indications are that after a brief
lull, the fires have intensified. It is interesting to note the
range of estimates of areas burned, from 400,000 to over 1 million
hectares. This is a major ecological disaster, which unfortunately
may be an indicator of what is to come if the World does not get its
forest conservation house in order. The Gaia Forest Conservation
Archives Indonesian directory has been updated with several dozen
additional articles besides the ones I have sent out previously.
Check out: http://forests.org/forests/indonesia.html
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
ITEM #1
Title: Suharto Fiddles While Indonesia Burns
Source: Greenleft Weekly
Status: Distribute freely with accreditation
Date: October 15, 1997
Byline: By James Balowski
On September 16, President Suharto publicly apologised to Indonesia's
neighbours for the fires which have blanketed large parts of Malaysia,
Singapore and the Philippines in choking smog. But those who hoped
that this was a signal that Jakarta intends to address the problem
seriously would be well advised, quite literally, to hold their
breath. As the October 2 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review
aptly put it, ``The strong winds of market demand and the smouldering
coals of collusion are likely to keep the fires raging for many dry
seasons to come''.
Although the fires started as far back as July, the Indonesian
government has done little more than resign itself to watching them
burn. Sufficient rain to douse the fires is not likely to begin until
late October or November.
Satellite images show that almost 1 million hectares have been
affected. Friends of the Earth International say that 220-290 million
tonnes of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere -
equal to half of Britain's annual emissions.
The long-term ecological implications could be devastating. The
director-general of the World Wide Fund for Nature, Claude Martin,
quoted in the Guardian on September 27, described the situation was a
``planetary disaster''.
Scientists have warned that the effect on long-term global warming and
immediate weather patterns throughout the world could be immense.
Also threatened are an additional 1 million hectares of peat forests,
which may burn for decades. Environmentalists calculate that if only
the top 10 centimetres were to burn, it would release an additional 20
million tonnes of CO2 into the air.
Peat fires can burn deep underground for years and are almost
impossible to control on a large scale. Firefighters have to dig
around a site to locate the smoldering peat layers, then use sand to
put them out. Every blackened log and stone must be turned over to
make sure that embers are not hidden underneath.
Peat fires can also break out weeks after the initial surface fire has
been put out. Although satellite photographs can locate hot spots
indicating surface fires, they cannot pinpoint peat fires smoldering
underground.
Ecological disaster
The lowland tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Kalimantan are among
the most biologically rich ecosystems on earth, and whole species may
be lost.
Smoke cuts down the light, reducing photosynthesis, which drives plant
growth and powers the entire ecological system. When the rains do
finally arrive, increased sediment loads due to reduced plant cover
will be carried far out to sea, settling on coral and blocking out
vital light. As the dead coral crumbles, island are simply washed
away.
Smoke is also affecting bees in northern Malaysia, although the smog
there is relatively light. They are feeding less, which means they
pollinate fewer trees and plants - and that means less food for fruit-
eaters and herbivores.
As insect numbers decline, so do the birds and reptiles which feed on
them, affecting the entire food chain. Amphibians, which will suffer a
dry season made worse by drought, will be especially vulnerable.
Larger animals are also at risk. Primates, such as the orangutan, are
especially vulnerable because, unlike four-footed animals, they are
slower and need trees to move through forest to escape the fires.
The potent mix of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ash - added to
by industrial pollution and car exhaust - has produced a choking haze
which, in some places, has reduced visibility to just a few metres.
Airports throughout the region have been forced to cancel flights, and
the effects on air and sea transportation have led to shortages of
many goods.
Authorities in Jakarta say that 20 million Indonesians are suffering
eye, skin and respiratory problems, mainly in southern Sumatra and
Kalimantan. At least 70 million people in six south-east Asian
countries have also been affected.
In parts of Indonesia the air pollution index (API) is six times the
normal level, and particulate matter more than double the level deemed
safe by authorities.
API levels in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, have reached world
record levels, passing 800. The safe limit is considered to be 100;
being exposed to API levels of 200 to 300 has roughly the same effect
as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
In the forests of Kalimantan, the extent of the suffering remains
unclear. Many indigenous communities face food and water shortages
and poisonous smoke.
Broader impacts
Economic analysts are already warning that air pollution could add to
the economic woes of the region; many south-east Asian economies are
still reeling from dramatic currency devaluations.
Liew Yin Sze, of research at the Singapore investment house J.M.
Sassoon, told the Guardian on September 27 that industries from
tourism to electronics to palm oil production could be affected.
In Malaysia's Johore state, the agriculture department is warning that
reduced sunlight will affect crops. Fishing boats in Sarawak have been
advised not to put out to sea, and Thais are complaining that poor
visibility is hampering fishing in the Andaman Sea.
On September 26, Indonesia's agriculture minister, Syarifuddin
Baharsyah, said that 173 rubber and palm oil plantation areas were on
fire. Prices are already rising.
The haze is also hampering the ripening of fruits; traders and
commodity associations said that it was already affecting coffee and
cocoa production and disrupting transportation.
The tourist industry is taking a beating, resorts throughout the
region reporting reduced occupancy levels. Resorts as far north as the
Thai island of Phuket, 1400 kilometres from the nearest fires, are
enveloped by grimy smog.
Smoke from fires which have broken out on the island of Lombok is
expected to affect nearby Bali, which draws almost a third of
Indonesia's tourists.
Perhaps the only ones to find a silver lining in the disaster are
manufactures and distributors of household air purifiers and surgical
masks. In Indonesia, the price of masks has soared from 500 rupiah
(16 cents) to 4000 rupiah.
Logging
Since 1982, forest fires on a large scale in Kalimantan, Sumatra and
Java have come with the onset of each dry season. A fire in Kalimantan
in 1983, reportedly the largest in human history, destroyed 3.7
million hectares of rainforest, an area the size of the Netherlands.
In 1987, 2 million hectares, 1.4 million of primary rainforest, were
destroyed in Kalimantan, Sumatra, East Timor, Sulawesi and mountain
regions of Java.
In 1991 smoke and ash from fires blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and the
Straits of Malacca, forcing Indonesia to call for international help.
Forest fires of this magnitude coincide with a rapid increase in
logging and plantation activities which began in the early 1980s. In
1966, 82% of Indonesia's land mass was covered by primary forest. By
1982 this had shrunk to 68%, and recent satellite photographs indicate
that forest cover - including timber plantations - is now down to
about 55%.
In late 1996, the Indonesian minister of forests said that 20 million
hectares of forest were in a critical state and warned that this was
increasing rapidly. The World Bank estimates 800,000 hectares of
forest are lost each year.
Around 64 million hectares - one-third of Indonesia's land mass - is
devoted to commercial logging. In 1996 Indonesia became the world's
largest plywood exporter.
Jakarta has been actively promoting timber estates in combination with
transmigration programs to relocate people from densely populated Java
and Bali to the outer islands. Clearing land for plantations also
provides cheap labour from indigenous people deprived of their
livelihood.
Around 35 companies are developing plantations in conjunction with
transmigration. This year, about 300,000 hectares of virgin rainforest
were approved for ``conversion'' to palm oil plantations.
Palm oil plantations are a major factor in the depletion of forests.
Actively promoted by government, annual exports of palm oil and
related products have now reach $US1 billion.
Crude palm oil production is projected to rise to 5.3 million tonnes
in 1997, compared with 4.5 million tonnes last year. The government is
planning to increase this to 7.2 million tonnes by 2000, more than
doubling plantation area to 5.5 million hectares.
Although a ban on burning forest to clear land for plantations has
been in place since 1995, burning is the cheapest and quickest way.
Most of the land allocated for plantations is classified as
``conversion forest'', which has already been logged by timber
companies. Any remaining trees are cut down and sold by the
plantations before the brush and debris are burned.
A.F.S. Budiman, executive director of the Rubber Association of
Indonesia, admitted to the October 2 Far Eastern Economic Review, ``If
you do land-clearing in pioneer areas, where no roads are established,
the only practical way to get rid of the debris is to burn it''.
When asked what happens when a local official tries to enforce the
law, Budiman replied, ``You just bribe him''.
Crony companies
As criticism has mounted, Indonesian officials have attempted to shift
the blame to El Nino, a climatic phenomenon which sucks moisture from
the western side of the Pacific Ocean, disrupting normal weather
patterns and inducing prolonged dry spells.
On September 28, the official Antara news agency and Suara Pembaruan
quoted coordinating minister for people's welfare Azwar Anas as
saying, ``The freak weather phenomenon is partly to blame ... It's a
natural disaster which no-one could have prevented.''
But as far back as August, even the usually ``subdued'' Indonesian
media were beginning to express what most people already knew - that
the major obstacle to dealing with the fires is the close political
and business links between the timber and plantation companies and
President Suharto.
An Indonesian ministerial report released in mid-September blamed 176
logging and plantation firms located in eight provinces for the fires.
Although the report listed the names of the companies, it failed to
mention the principal shareholders or owners.
Many are owned by some of Indonesia's wealthiest and most prominent
business figures. Among those listed were companies owned by Liem Sioe
Liong, Eka Tjipta Wijaya, timber tycoon Mohammad ``Bob'' Hasan,
Prayogo Pangestu of the Barito Pacific Group and even companies owned
by an army foundation. Included were Sinar Mas, which Hasan jointly
owns with Malaysian conglomerates, and Hasan's PT Kiani Lestari,
operating in South Kalimantan. Others were Pangestu's PT Musi Hutan
Persada, in South Sumatra, Wijaya's PT Indah Kiat in Riau and several
companies under the Salim Group, controlled by Liem Sioe Liong -
reputedly the wealthiest man in Indonesia.
Liem's association with Suharto goes as far back as the 1950s, when he
was a lieutenant colonel in command of the Central Java Division; he
was dismissed from this post in 1956 for involvement in smuggling.
Hasan, also a long-term associate, plays golf with Suharto two or
three times a week. Hasan first got involved in the forestry industry
in 1972 with assistance from military contacts, going on to build the
Kalimanis timber empire.
In the 1980s, he founded the Indonesian Plywood Association, which
controls plywood exports. He is also of the Indonesian Timber Society
and the Indonesian Furniture Association.
In the past Hasan has countered criticisms of Indonesia's forestry
management by launching overseas ``seminars'' and advertisements. He
has accused environmental groups campaigning against destructive
logging practices and violation of indigenous rights of being
``stooges'' of foreign timber interests.
Hasan has become Suharto's most trusted business adviser and runs the
day-to-day affairs of a number business groups owned by private
foundations controlled by Suharto.
Prayogo has ties to Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti
Rukmana, better known as Tutut; they have common interests in a number
of companies.
Malaysian link
Despite being the worst affected of Indonesia's neighbours, Malaysia
has failed to put any real pressure on Jakarta. The reason is not hard
to find. A report from industry sources says that the Indonesian
government is investigating 18 Malaysian and five Singaporean joint
ventures for lighting fires in Sumatra.
An article by exiled Indonesian academic George J. Aditjondro in the
October 1 Sydney Morning Herald paints a familiar picture of nepotism
and political links between Malaysian timber and plantation firms, the
Malaysian government and Indonesian conglomerates.
Malaysian business tycoon Robert Kuok is a shareholder in a South
Sumatra oil palm plantation owned by Hashim Djojohadikusumo and his
sister-in-law, Titiek Prabowo, Suharto's second daughter and wife of
General Prabowo Subianto, of the elite Kopassus military command.
Indonesian companies such as Raja Garuda Mas and Sinar Mas are
involved in joint ventures in Sarawak with well-connected Malaysian
conglomerates.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad's son Mirzan and Suharto's
son Bambang Trihatmodjo are partners in the Malaysian Berjaya group,
which has been severely criticised by US environmental groups for its
widespread destruction of forests.
Too little too late
On September 9, Suharto reissued a 1995 ban on burning forest and
called on the military to help enforce it. Companies were given until
October 3 to prove they were not the culprits.
Laws allow up to 10 years' imprisonment and a 100 million rupiah fine
for polluters. Not one company, however, has ever been convicted. Even
the environment minister, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, admitted to Reuters
on September 22 that environmental laws are not policed properly.
Soon after Suharto's announcement, the number of fires increased, as
companies rushed to clear as much land as possible before the
deadline. Even if the deadline was strictly adhered to, it would only
let companies finish clearing land at a time the normal rainy season
would have forced them to do so.
On September 26 the English-language daily Jakarta Post revealed that
14 of the firms named in the ministerial report were still clearing
land in defiance of the official ban. The names of the firms were not
specified.
On September 25, 1210 firefighters were sent to Sumatra from Malaysia.
But a report in the September 29 Straits Times, which followed a team
of Malaysian firefighters, indicated growing frustration over
Indonesia's lack of coordination.
One firefighter, who did not want to be named, told the Times, ``We
came here to help. But instead we have been sitting around most of the
time waiting.''
On October 3, the Indonesian forestry minister, Djamaludin
Suryohadikusumo, revoked the licences of nine companies for failing to
meet the deadline to prove that they were not responsible for lighting
fires. They included Hasan's PT Kiani Lestari, as well as companies
owned by Pangestu, Widjaya and Liem.
Along with Kusumaatmadja, since being appointed to the cabinet in
1993, Djamaludin has been one of a small number of officials who have
dared to take a stand. Many initiatives, however, have proved futile.
In October last year, Djamaludin refused to renew 60 forestry
licences, citing poor land management. But in April it was revealed
that the companies had continued operations as if nothing had
happened.
Such actions have earned Djamaludin powerfully enemies. Only a day
after he threatened to cancel Kiani Lestari's licence, a call was
raised in parliament for his resignation.
`Shamefully inadequate'
On September 27, the government announced emergency relief of a mere
3.1 billion rupiah, less than US$800,000. A press statement by Friends
of the Earth International chair Kevin Dunion said the amount is
``shamefully inadequate given the magnitude of the tragedy. The
government spends more than a hundred times this sum to keep powerful
pulp, paper and peat barons in business.''
The Indonesian environment NGO Walhi is currently taking Suharto to
court for approving a loan of over US$100 million from state
reforestation funds - almost half of last year's reforestation revenue
- to help build Hasan's PT Kiani Kertas paper and pulp plant in East
Kalimantan.
Walhi filed a similar but unsuccessful suit against Suharto in 1994,
when a US$190 million loan from reforestation funds was made, interest
free, to the Nusantara Aircraft Industry, d by another long-term
Suharto crony, technology and research minister B.J. Habibie. The
state earns around US$3 billion from timber exports each year.
On October 2, Australian experts were dispatched to Indonesia to take
part in a UN disaster relief team, using a A$2 million relief package
announced by foreign minister Alexander Downer. This compares to the
A$1.4 billion the Australian government put up to prop up the Thai
baht.
A preventable disaster
Although El Nino is certainly contributing to the late rains, rainfall
itself is reduced by the loss of forest cover. Forest cover also
absorbs rain and acts as a water catchment. Clearing causes rivers to
run fast and early, leading to erosion and quick drying up.
Rainforests are one of the wettest places on earth. Even in a drought,
there is little to feed a fire. Because of the lack of undergrowth,
when fires do break out, they move quickly through the forest,
scarring trees but killing very few.
Scientist have also speculated that El Nino is getting worse because
deforestation and the subsequent erosion are affecting air currents
over surface water in coastal areas of Asia.
But it is not just the greed of Suharto and the logging and plantation
firms which has created this disaster.
Government investment and ``development'' policies which have promoted
destructive land clearing practices are spurred on by market forces
and capitalism's endless drive for profit. Many of the projects were
championed by and funded by institutions such as the World Bank and
the IMF, which pressure countries such as Indonesia to increase
exports.
[James Balowski worked with environment organisations in Indonesia
between 1993 and 1995.]
-30-
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ITEM #2
Title: Warning of unrest as poor pay for IMF bailout
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Status: Copyrighted, seek permission from source for repreinting
Date: October 15, 1997
Byline: By LOUISE WILLIAMS, Herald Correspondent in Jakarta
Rising prices, cutbacks in health services and lay-offs resulting from
economic reforms to be pushed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
will hit Indonesia's poor and could fuel social unrest, a group of
non-government organisations said yesterday. The WAHLI coalition of
environmental and grassroots organisations said measures sought by the
IMF in exchange for a program to rescue Indonesia's corporate sector
from the currency crisis were expected to be severe. "Fuel subsidies
will be stopped, government expenditure reduced - we are afraid the
spending on hospitals, local clinics and schools will be cut back,"
WAHLI's executive director, Ms Emmy Hafild, said.
The expected increase in fuel prices would affect transport costs and
push up the price of all basic commodities, she said. The downturn in
the labour-intensive construction industry would force lay-offs and
further labour unrest should be expected. "Those who will sacrifice
the most will be the poorest. But the business groups with vested
interests will continue to receive special rights to exploit the
nation's national resources," Ms Hafild said of Indonesia's dominant
corporate sector, with its powerful political connections.
WAHLI said it feared increasing violence in Indonesian society as the
stresses of vast forest fires and the severe drought, combined with
spending cutbacks, began to affect ordinary people, already suffering
under unemployment rates of 38 per cent. "What we are worried about is
that the usual climax of fires and long periods of drought is famine
and crop failures. There could be a long period of unrest."
The IMF, the World Bank and officials of the Soeharto Government
continued closed- door meetings in Jakarta yesterday. The rupiah,
pushed to an all-time low last week ahead of the call for IMF
assistance, held on to modest gains, but remained well below its
previous value.
WAHLI said its own investigation into the forest fires which continue
to burn across parts of Indonesia showed that more than 1.1 million
hectares of forest have been lost, compared with the 400,000 hectares
conceded by the Government.
Environment Ministry officials warned on Monday that the haze and fire
problem was not over, after the number of fires sharply increased as a
very hot, dry and windy weather pattern settled across Indonesia.
WAHLI said the Government had instructed local newspaper editors to
stop blaming big timber and plantation companies and to instead blame
the El Nino pattern.
Ms Hafild said the group was not confident that threats against big
companies which started the fires as a means of cheap and quick land
clearing would be prosecuted, nor that any fundamental changes would
be made to prevent a repeat of this year's environmental disaster.
She said about 97 per cent of Indonesia's wood product exports were
produced using virgin rainforest and that renewable timber plantations
had not yet matured.
"The haze and forest fire problem runs parallel to the financial
crisis. The fundamentals of both are the distortion of the economy,
monopolies and vested interests in the economy which have not been
addressed."
**********
ITEM #3
Title: Indonesian forest fires said spreading - officials
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyright 1997, seek permission from source for reprinting
Date: October 13, 1997
JAKARTA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Forest fires raging in Indonesia, which
have been blamed for a health-threatening smog covering much of
Southeast Asia, are spreading in some areas, government officials said
on Monday.
An official at the government's disaster coordinating bureau said he
had reports of worsening fires on Sumatra island, while fresh hotspots
had appeared in remote eastern areas.
``We've learned that forest fires worsened in Lampung on Sumatra
island. We also receive reports of fresh hotspots appearing in south
Sulawesi and Irian Jaya,'' the official said.
The reports came as officials at the bureau briefed on Monday a U.S.
team on the extent of the crisis. Three U.S. C-130 military transport
planes are expected to be deployed to help Indonesia's fire-fighting
efforts.
``Two U.S. military officials were here this morning and we gave them
the information needed on the extent of the forest fires,'' another
official at the bureau said.
The United States is the latest country to try and help Indonesia
fight the fires, which have burned hundreds of thousands of hectares
of scrub, bush and forest, and set ablaze huge amounts of peat.
Fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of the vast
Borneo Island, have produced a choking smog triggering health alarms
across the region.
Neil Byron, of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
at Bandung, told Reuters the biggest problems remained extensive fires
in above-ground growth in the Jambi and Riau areas of Sumatra and peat
fires in central Kalimantan.
Fire-fighters, including more than 1,000 Malaysians who have joined
Indonesian troops, forestry workers and volunteers, have had some
success against smaller and more localised fires, experts said.
``But the bigger fires are much more difficult,'' one said.
The fires have been blamed on forestry and plantation companies and
small farmers clearing land for development, aggravated by severe
drought caused in part by the El Nino weather phenomenon in the
Pacific Ocean altering global weather patterns.
``It's still difficult to get the necessary up-to-date information on
the extent of the fires,'' CIFOR's Byron said.
Scattered rain has fallen in some parts of the archipelago, but
experts say the full monsoon downpour is needed to help extinguish the
fires, especially in the deep-lying peat.
Two of the U.S. C-130s will carry aerial fire-fighting equipment
capable of holding 3,000 gallons (11,300 litres) of water that can be
released from the air. It was not immediately known where they would
operate.
State Department spokesman James Rubin has said the aid programme
would support efforts by Indonesia and Malaysia in five areas --
humanitarian relief, fighting the fires, monitoring air quality,
analysing the health effects of the haze and weather forecasting.
Malaysia said on Monday it would soon send a new batch of 1,200
firemen to Indonesia to replace the contingent sent last month.
Two Australian water-bombers have been in action since last week. A
number of other nations have also offered assistance and equipment.
**********
ITEM #4
Title: Forest fires rekindled in Indonesia
Source: Agence France-Presse
Status: Copyright 1997, seek permission from source for reprinting
Date: October 13, 1997
JAKARTA, Oct 13 (AFP) - Hopes that fires raging across Indonesia were
under control were dashed Monday amid reports that a dramatic
increase in the number of new forest blazes had been detected at the
weekend.
There are also government fears more fires could be raging which
satellite images had been unable to pick up because of a thick haze,
still shrouding some areas.
As airports across the archipelago were shut down again because of the
haze, satellite photos showed the numbers of fire spots detected in
Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java rose from 16 to 40 on Friday, the Jakarta
Post said, quoting the Environmental Impact and Management Agency.
In Singapore, authorities issued a health advisory Monday as the smoky
haze returned to the island despite heavy rains over the weekend.
"The elderly and persons with heart and respiratory diseases should
reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities," said the advisory
issued by the ministry of the environment.
Rains last week initially appeared to have helped quell the fires
which have according to some estimates destroyed up to 800,000
hectares of forests (1.9 million acres).
They aided the efforts of about 1,000 Malaysian firefighters
dispatched to Indonesia in a bid to dampen the fires and end the
haze which brought weeks of misery to its neighbours. In parts of
Sarawak, the Malaysian part of Borneo, pollution levels rose to
dangerous on several occasions.
The Malaysians have been deployed in the three provinces since
September 24 to help local efforts in combatting the fires that have
sent a thick smoke haze over most of Southeast Asia.
Some of the areas hit have been tropical rainforests which sustain one
of the most unique ecosystems on the planet.
A local environment official said it could take a quarter of century
for central Borneo to recover.
"It (Central Kalimantan province) needs 25 years to recover the
damaged environment, after this year's forest fires," said Britasi
Saloh quoted Monday by the state Antara news agency.
Speaking over the weekend in the provincial capital of Palangkaraya,
he said the fires have caused "immeasurable" environmental damage to
the ecosystem.
Antara said Monday that 33 fires had been detected in five provinces
on Sumatra island with southern Sumatra accounting for 22 hot spots.
West and central Kalimantan had one fire spot each while on Java,
three fires were detected in west Java and another two in the east.
"However, it is possible that the satellites cannot trace all
existing hot spots as thick haze still blankets Sumatra and
Kalimantan," the agency said.
Visibility worsened in several parts of Indonesia on the weekend as
the haze thickened, the daily said.
Hardest hit, with visibility reduced to below one kilometre (just over
half a mile), were the areas in the Sumatran provinces of Aceh, Riau,
Jambi and Bengkulu and in west and central Kalimantan, on the
Indonesian part of Borneo.
The reappearance of the thick haze, which had began to ease in several
regions since earlier this month, has forced the temporary closure of
airports in Jambi, Pontianak in west Kalimantan and in Palangkaraya,
central Kalimantan on Sunday, the Jakarta Post said.
"The visibility in Kalimantan and Sumatra will drop and the haze will
spread to an even wider area," the agency said, adding "it is
predicted that there will be more airports closed."
The agency said winds could spread the haze towards the southern and
western parts of Kalimantan, the Malaysian state of Sarawak and the
Malaysian peninsula.
Six Indonesians have died from haze-related ailments since August and
some 40,000 others had had their health affected.
Indonesia's environmental agency is meanwhile gathering evidence to
take legal action against 29 firms which the government blamed for
illegal slash and burn techniques to clear large swathes of
land.
The government has revoked the timber-use permits of the 29 firms,
after they failed to prove their innocence.
Meanwhile, huge bush fires burning in Western Australia were unlikely
to affect the atmosphere over Southeast Asia, experts said.
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