REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUANTAN SINGINGI -- Five hotspots resulting from forest and plantation fires were detected in Kuantan Singingi, Riau Province, a local official stated here on Tuesday.
The hotspots were found in the restricted production forest in Pucuk Rantau and PT RAPP area in Singingi, noted Hardi Yaqub, the head of the Kuantan Singingi Environmental Agency.
The agency has intensified its efforts to monitor the hotspots in order to prevent wild fires from spreading, he affirmed.
The government has banned the use of fire for land clearing activities, and those found violating the regulation will face strict sanctions.
The ongoing drought in some parts of Indonesia has triggered the spread of hotspots arising from forest and plantation fires in 15 provinces across the country.
The 15 provinces affected by hotspots include East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sumatra, East Java, Riau, Aceh, Lampung, and Bali, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
"The related authorities are still trying to extinguish the hotspots," Sutopo recently remarked, calling on the authorities in other provinces of Indonesia to remain vigilant about the possible appearance of hotspots in their areas.
Vigilance is crucial, since nine of Indonesia's 33 provinces are prone to forest fires due to several factors, including drought, Arief Yuwono, the deputy III of the Ministry of the Environment noted.
The nine provinces are North and South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau, as well as West, East, Central, South, and North Kalimantan.
"Data has been collected on the nine provinces. The provinces have to take preventive measures in order to act immediately if forest fires occur," Arief recently stated.
Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan recently visited Riau to monitor the land and forest fires in several regions, including the Rokan Hilir District. The minister had also witnessed the prosecution of the perpetrators of forest fires by the regional police.
"I strongly condemn the perpetrators of the (forest and land fires)," the minister informed the press in Pekanbaru.
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