FIREFIGHTERS are battling flames in parts of Kalimantan, Java and Sulawesi.
Water bombing aircraft are dropping water to control hot spots in Indonesia. And some regions are issuing fire warnings for the next few months.
These are events and actions we see almost every year during dry seasons. But the start of this year’s fire season is already alarming with a surge in fire activities reported ahead of the peak of a strong El Niño.
Data from the Forest Ministry and independent analysis show that burned areas and fire hot spots have surpassed levels recorded during the same period in the previous strong El Niño in 2019, when the country suffered one of its most destructive fire seasons in recent history.
Some 107,000 hectares of land and forest, an area nearly twice the size of Jakarta, burned nationwide in the first half of the year, about 120% higher than during the same period in 2019. Around 116,000 fire hot spots have been detected across the country since January, about 6,000 more than during the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, satellite images detected haze in South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. More than 70% of Indonesia’s seasonal zones have now entered a strong El Niño phase, but the peak of burning months is still expected to last until October.
Singapore-based think tank the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) has warned that Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei face a high risk of severe transboundary haze from August to September.
Most land and forest fires are caused by human negligence or deliberate land clearing, making the devastating blazes largely preventable when vigilance, awareness and stronger law enforcement and land management persist.
Data from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) shows seven out of 10 hot spots detected across Kalimantan were located on industrial concessions. While the hotter, drier climates allow flames to spread easily, they give the predictability and pattern we need to prevent and mitigate fires.
That said, preventing destructive flames is both simpler and cheaper than fighting them.
Fires, once they develop, can be uncontrollable and often cause far-reaching impacts on people, the economy and the environment. Choking smoke can travel kilometres away, disrupting transport, shutting schools and affecting air quality in the archipelago and neighbouring countries.
Widespread forest and peatland fires in 2015 damaged 2.6 million hectares of land and forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan, claimed the lives of 24 people and brought on respiratory problems to hundreds of thousands of people. The fires led to Indonesia’s worst-ever haze crisis, causing Rp 221 trillion (RM50.5bil) in economic losses to the archipelago and angering Singapore and Malaysia.
The then-administration of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had tightened enforcement against illegal burning and launched large-scale peatland restoration, though instances of forest fires and haze still persisted in the following years, including in 2019 when around 1.64 million ha of land and forest were burned nationwide.
This year’s fire season, the government of Prabowo Subianto are conducting weather modification operations in six provinces, namely Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, to keep hot spots under control and peatlands stay moist. The budget for each operation reportedly ranges from Rp 2.3 billion to 2.5 billion.
The government has also imposed administrative sanctions on 14 companies found responsible for wildfires and required concession holders to strengthen firefighting brigades to improve prevention and response. That signals seriousness, particularly if they can keep to their promise to increase the much-needed fire prevention budget, as many regional administrations are still struggling to prevent and contain fires because of limited personnel and funding amid Prabowo’s austerity drive to fund his costly welfare programmes. But a good start can be meaningless if it is not followed by continuous vigilance, stronger law enforcement and greater public awareness. We are calling for increased vigilance and stronger prevention ahead of the peak of the strong El Niño. Better be safe than sorry. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
