Indonesia steps up efforts to stop slash-and-burn smog

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) - Indonesia says it is stepping up efforts to clamp down on forest and land fires as neighbors Singapore and Malaysia continue to suffer their annual smoky haze.

On Sunday, Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya said the country had been placed under emergency with regards to anticipating and preventing the impact of smoke emanating from the fires.

"In the morning, afternoon and evening, we kept monitoring the situation and as soon as we detected a fire, we immediately acted to put it out. As a result, the number of fires this year has dropped sharply by 70 to 90 percent," Nurbaya said during a visit to the Tanah Laut district in South Kalimantan, which last year was cloaked in smoke from peatland fires for weeks.

On Friday, a thin cloak of haze hung over Singapore, with the city-state's environment agency reporting that its pollution Index had hit the "unhealthy" level, while Malaysia is reported to have been feeling the effects of the smog since mid-August.

The burn off is still to beat the effects of last year, however, when 261,000 hectares (644,931 acres) were burned, causing billions of dollars in economic losses.

According to Indonesia's forestry ministry, about 2,800 hectares have been burned so far this year.

The government has been stepping up efforts to clamp down on agricultural conglomerates and small-time farmers' technique of "slash-and-burn", which involves cutting down vegetation and then burning off the undergrowth to make space for new plantations.

The country is reported to have made 454 arrests in connection with the fires already this year -- more than double that of 2015 when 196 people were held.

On Sunday, the head of the country's National Disaster Management Agency, Willem Rampangilei, said in a statement that the government would "continue to exert all-out national resources to address land and forest fires".

He said a total of 18 helicopters and planes were mobilized to support the blackout in six provinces which have established emergency status for the fires.

"Although some areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan expect rain, but we must not be careless. September is the peak of the dry season so that prevention should be increased," he underlined.