Indonesia to Discuss Forest Fire Problem With Neighbors
8/12/99
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Title: Indonesia to Discuss Forest Fire Problem With Neighbors
Source: XINHUA
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: August 12, 1999
JAKARTA (Aug. 12) XINHUA - Indonesia would soon hold a bilateral
meeting with Malaysia and Brunei to discuss the forest fire problem.
Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin Nasution said the
meeting would be held ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations environment ministers' meeting scheduled to be held in
Singapore later this month.
He said he hoped the meeting would ease concerns over a possible
repeat of thick smoke which blanketed the region because of the 1997
forest fires.
"The government will explain its actions to combat the fires and
request input from the two countries for further action," he was
quoted by The Jakarta Post Thursday as saying.
Muslimin said his office had found that hot spots had spread to all
12 provinces in Sumatera and Kalimantan on Wednesday, from five
provinces in the previous week.
"As of this week, forest fires have ravaged over 3,601 hectares of
forest and plantation areas in Sumatera and Kalimantan," he said.
The minister blamed the forest and land fires on plantation owners
and small farmers starting fires to clear land.
"Most of the hot spots were detected in plantation areas, and areas
located near human settlements indicated that the fires were started
by plantation firms and nomadic farmers," he said.
He added that the ministry would immediately revoke licenses to
forest concessionaires and plantation companies found responsible for
the fires.
Haze from the fires in Sumatera and Kalimantan covered most of the
region in 1997, causing serious health and transport hazards, and
recurred in 1998, but to a lesser extent.