Forest fire, in Pekanbaru, in Riau province, Indonesia, on July 31, 2019. Photo:AFP
State of emergency declared over rise in forest fires in Indonesia
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily | JULY 1st 2020
A state of emergency had been called in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan, known to be the third-largest province in the country. This state of emergency comes in the brace for the seasonal fires, as over 700 forest fires have already been identified since Wednesday.
With Indonesia still struggling with the effects of the pandemic disease that’s ailed the world, COVID-19, it’s seen some major downturns and rollbacks in its protective measures taken against situations of forest fires. As such, the annual forest fire season is thought to be much more high-risk than it was in the previous year.
The Sumatra and Kalimantan islands are prone to forest fires during the dry season on a yearly basis. This often leads to the production of a rather harmful smog that can ooze into neighbouring countries, and is harmful to the lungs. The fires are quelled as soon as possible in Indonesia, but with the recent fire protection rollbacks due to the coronavirus panic, the situations have proven themselves to be far more difficult to handle.
Protections in Indonesia were scaled back from some of the world’s most important rainforests. An environment ministry official told Reuters reporters that the team usually responsible for tracking down and putting out the fires has also had a severe budget cut, meaning they won’t be as widely available or effective this year during the season of fires.
“Efforts to mitigate forest fires are underway because almost every region in Central Kalimantan entered the dry season in July,” said an official with province’s disaster mitigation agency, Alpius Patanan.
The state of emergency is still in its early stages, meaning that efforts to put out the fires are increased (though not majorly) and increased patrols are called for. The state of emergency is to last until September 28, as the situation with the fires is expected to worsen over the coming months.
“Fire hot spots could potentially be bigger and spread to remote peatland areas, especially in the burned areas from 2019 that are not yet restored,” said Kiki Taufik, head of the Greenpeace forests campaign in Indonesia. “And the haze could be potentially thicker or similar to last year.”
A cabinet meeting was held in the country on June 23, chaired by the President Joko Widodo and hosting the chief of the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response, Doni Monardo. During the meeting, one of the main points discussed was the smoke from the forest fire and how it could negatively impact nearby residents. A particularly voiced concern was that the resultant smoke could increase the spread, and the adverse effects of the virus.
“Heavy smoke can pose a health threat to the community, particularly those ailing from asthma or ARI (acute respiratory infection). The impact could be dangerous for asthma patients when exposed to COVID-19,” Monardo said. “There is a pressing need for hard work and cooperation from all sections of the community in all regions that annually experience significant forest and land fires, especially in the peatland areas.”
A greater explosion of forest fires is expected to break out yet, in the regions of Sumatra, Riau, Aceh, and parts of North Sumatra, as well as Kalimantan, according to Minister of Environmental Affairs and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar.
By Patryk Krych | © The World Daily 2020
