REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PALEMBANG -- The provincial administration of South Sumatra is bracing for new waves of forest fire this year. The provincial administration is especially concerned that thick smokes from the forest fires could disturbed the Asian games to be hosted by the province next year.
South Sumatra and Jakarta will co-host the Games next year. "Preventive measures have been taken especially as South Sumatra will host the next Asian Games in 2018," South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said here on Tuesday.
Alex said the provincial administration is set to prevent the recurrence of big fires ravaging forests and plantations in the province in 2015. The government will use the Climate Modification Technology in battling forest fires, the governor said.
In addition, villages would be asked and motivated to take part in preventing and fighting forest and plantation fires, he said. All efforts are to ensure that South Sumatra is free from black haze of smokes from fores fires, he added. The provincial administration has reported the preparations to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at a meeting in Jakarta recently.
Earlier, head of the South Sumatra Regional Disaster Control Agency Iriansyah said the agency coordinated closely with the district and lower levels of administration in preventing forest and plantation fires. In Jakarta on Monday, the government announced a number of steps to prevent forest and plantation fires this year including provision of budget, law enforcement and mobilization of human resources. "First, the finance ministry and the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) are expected to allocate special budget for the preventive measures," Coordinating Minister for Law, Security and Political Affairs Wiranto said at a coordinating meeting attended by the president.
Also read: President urges revocation of companies triggering forest fires
Wiranto said budget was a problem in the efforts to prevent forest fires in 2016 as regional administrations were not free to set aside funds for that purpose. The regional administrations were bound by the regulation of the home affairs ministry on regional budget management that budget fund may not be used for other than already said in the budget program excepting for purpose in a state of emergency, he said. "Second, the Home Affairs Ministry should revise its regulation No 21/2011 on State Fund Guideline to allow regional administrations to use budget fund for preventive measures not only in the state of emergency," Wiranto added.
He said the number of hot spots dropped sharply in 2016 and the size of peat lands non peat lands destroyed by fires was much smaller thanks to the weather phenomenon La Nina that brought about more rainy days. In addition, there was better and more effective coordination between government agencies in the fight against forest and plantation fires, he said.
There has been coordination between related government agencies and nine provincial administrations more vulnerable to forest and plantation fires in monitoring hot spots such as the forestry and environment ministry, the Meteorology and Geophysics Office (BMKG), the Agriculture Ministry, the National Aviation and Airspace Institute, the National Agency for Disaster Control (BNPB), the military and police.
Currently canals have been built to hold water for peat land in 15,410 partitions, 2,581 units of retention basins, 516 units of wells, fire extinguishers, water bombing equipment and equipment for artificially made rain, Wiranto said. Law enforcement is firmly imposed against suspects in forest and plantation fires and patrols would be intensified, he said.
Wiranto said the operating licenses of three forestry and plantation companies have been cancelled, the licenses of 16 other companies were suspended and warning had been served to 115 other companies, he said. He said BMKG has predicted that the dry period would be longer in 2017 than in 2016 , therefore, early preventive measure is necessary to forestall forest and plantation fires.
Jambi Governor Zumi Zola said the material losses as a result of forest fires in that province reached Rp12 trillion in 2015. Fires destroyed 130,000 hectares of forest lands in 1,564 hot spots, the governor said, adding the losses did not include in health and educational sectors. "In 2016 we could reduce the number of hot spots by 82 percent until the rain began to fall. We hope there would be no forest fires this year," he said after attending working meeting led by the president on prevention of forest and plantation fires in Jakarta on Monday.
He said the government would act firmly against companies using fires in opening plantation lands, adding he would not hesitate to revoke the business license of suspects.
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