INDONESIA: FOREST FIRES CAUSE CHOKING HAZE IN MANY PARTS OF INDONESIA'S BORNEO ISLAND

Record ID: 584741

  • Title: INDONESIA: FOREST FIRES CAUSE CHOKING HAZE IN MANY PARTS OF INDONESIA'S BORNEO ISLAND
  • Date: 21st September 2002
  • Summary: (W3) NEAR PONTIANAK, KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA (SEPTEMBER 21, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV SMOKE FROM SLASH AND BURN FIRES 0.04 2. SLV WOMAN TENDING FIRES 0.11 3. LV BURNING TREE STUMPS 0.23 4. LV HAZE/MOTORCYCLISTS ON HIGHWAY 0.29 5. LV MORE OF SLASH AND BURN FIRES (2 SHOTS) 0.44 (W3) PONTIANAK, KALIMANTAN,INDONESIA (SEPTEMBER 21, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 6. SLV PONTIANAK TOWN ENTRANCE 0.49 7. SLV MOTORCYCLISTS PUTTING ON FACE MASKS 0.57 8. SLV TRAFFIC 1.08 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 6th October 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS,KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ZLKT223P2IMK210DDZGXU2VS
  • Story Text: Choking haze from forest fires has forced the
    indefinite closure of schools and offices in many parts of
    Indonesia's Borneo island.



    Meteorological officials in the Central Kalimantan
    capital, Palangkaraya, said conditions were horrible in the
    city, where visibility had dropped to 10 metres (11 yards)
    since Thursday (September 19).

    In the coastal city of Pontianak, haze from the fires was
    also thick and people were wearing face masks.

    A domestic Indonesian carrier, Merpati Nusantara
    Airlines,said the poor conditions had forced it to postpone
    all flights to Palangkaraya until the end of September.

    "There's been no rain, it's horrible. The governor's
    office has instructed schools and offices to close until
    further notice," Hidayat said by telephone from Palangkaraya,
    875 km (543 miles) northeast of Jakarta.

    "Only markets seem open," he said, predicting the haze
    would linger until October. The wet season is due to start in
    October or early November.

    Bouts of haze from forest fires, mainly coming from
    Indonesia's Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, have been a
    problem for several months, periodically affecting other parts
    of Southeast Asia. The fires, triggered by both land clearing
    and slash and burn farmers, create health and environmental
    problems almost every year.

    The east Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah and the
    independent sultanate of Brunei are also on Borneo.

    Khadijah, an official at the airport in Banjarmasin, the
    provincial capital of neighbouring South Kalimantan province,
    said haze had been a problem although it generally cleared
    during the day. Flights were operating normally there, she
    said.

    Thick haze from major fires on Borneo and Sumatra island
    in 1997 and 1998 spread to Singapore and Malaysia and cost
    regional economies $9 billion U.S. dollars in damage to
    farming, transport and tourism.

    Conservationists have long criticised Jakarta for failing
    to protect its natural resources. Indonesia admits its laws
    are too weak to deal with the problem and is promising reform.



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