Jakarta, Jan 24 (Antara) - Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman, whose province in recent years had been one of the main haze contributors due to forest and land fires in Sumatra, vowed on Monday to make his province smog-free this year.
To support his commitment to protect his province from haze, the governor called on all sides and the public around the forest areas to help support his efforts to prevent forests and land from fires.
"Thank God, last year, the haze was significantly reduced compared to the previous years during the dry season because of the efforts of all sides in carrying out prevention measures," Rachman said in a press statement made available to Antara in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, on Monday.
This year, the governor is committed to take preventive measures by declaring a forest-and-land fire emergency alert status.
Earlier in the day, the governors of Riau and other provinces were invited to attend a national coordination meeting on forest fire prevention in Jakarta. In the meeting, President Jokowi reminded ministers and regional authorities to remain vigilant against forest fires, starting from early this year.
He called on the regional government heads to not hesitate in declaring a land-and-forest fire emergency alert status.
"I want the emergency alert status for forest and land fires to be declared as early as possible. The emergency status should not be declared after problems have been created," Jokowi stated at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
Therefore, Rachman declared an emergency alert status for forest fires for a 96-day period ending April 30, 2017.
"The emergency alert status was decided after Rohul District and Dumai City earlier declared the status to take preventive steps as early as possible," he stated.
According to Rachman, his province has since early this month made anticipatory efforts in the face of possible forest and land fires. The local government continued to conduct campaigns among the people on the importance of preventing forest and land fires.
He said that at least two districts in Riau Province had declared emergency alert status as an anticipatory step. The emergency alert status will allow the authorities to move easily in taking anticipatory measures, such as the efforts taken by the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian Police and the public in general.
The governor was optimistic that Riau Province will be able to achieve its target of being haze-free in 2017 if all sides work hand-in-hand in preventing forest and land fires.
"The people have to realize that burning forests, particularly for opening up agricultural land, would be very disadvantageous," he stressed.
This is in line with the directives of Jokowi during the meeting when he reminded that forest and land fires in a number of provinces or regions in 2017 should be minimized and anticipatory efforts must be increased.
"We all have to make anticipation to prevent the recurrence of the major forest and land fires in 2015," Jokowi added.
The forest and land fires in 2015, which not only affected the economic growth but also impacted the aviation sector, should serve as a very valuable lesson.
Therefore, the president's call for early announcement of emergency alert status is important to enable authorities to take immediate steps in provinces that are prone to forest and land fires.
According to the president, the request for immediate declaration of the emergency alert status has particularly been conveyed to the governors of provinces, which are prone to forest and land fires.
"The emergency status as soon be issued as the hotspot is detected. Early detection measures should be reinforced, particularly in the provinces of Riau, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and Papua. All elements must conduct active, on-field checks and should not only monitor it from their workplaces," the president affirmed.
Jokowi also reiterated the need to impose a reward and punishment system for the prevention of forest and land fires. He needed to remind the National Defense Forces (TNI) commander and the National Police (Polri) chief to give rewards. However, the punishment should also be meted out to those found guilty of causing forest and land fires," the president noted.
In the meantime, Riau's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has detected 12 hotspots indicating forest and land fires in Sumatra last weekend.
"Hotspots, with a 50 percent confidence level, are detected in five provinces in Sumatra," Head of Riau's BMKG office Sugarin stated in Riau on Friday (Jan 20). The Terra and Aqua satellites had detected hotspots in Sumatra since Thursday (Jan 19).
On Friday, five hotspots were detected in Bengkulu, one each in Aceh and Jambi, three in South Sumatra, and two in Riau. According to the BMKG, the northern area and eastern coast of Riau Province are forecast to receive medium-intensity rains on Friday evening.
The agency has begun detecting hotspots indicating forest and land fires in Riau over the last two weeks. The hotspots were found Rokan Hilir, Siak, Pelalawan, Kuantan Singingi, Indragiri Hulu, and Pekanbaru City.
Therefore, the Riau provincial government has declared a forest and land fire emergency alert status as part of its efforts to maximize the prevention and handling of the annual forest fire disaster.(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 24-01-2017 20:32:0 |
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