Weekly review of permits for open burning

MIRI: Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) will review permits to carry out open burning on a weekly basis if the current hot and dry spell continues. 

Its chief enforcement officer, Dania Goyog, said the permits, issued to plantation owners and agriculture companies to enable them to dispose of farm wastes, would be revoked immediately if necessary. 

“We issue permits to burn agriculture wastes on a seasonal basis. Those with permits can conduct burning on a month-to-month basis,” he said in an interview. 

“However, we will impose a weekly review on these permits if the dry weather continues. We will have to review these permits based on current ground situation in the different parts of the state.”  

Goyog pointed out that the current weather patterns in Sarawak differed greatly from one division to another. 

“Some parts of the northern region are experiencing a dry spell while in areas like Kuching, it is raining every day,” he said, adding that the board would impose a temporary ban on open burning in the northern divisions if it continued to experience dry and hot weather. 

Goyog stressed that the general weather throughout the state was still considered safe for controlled open burning.