JAKARTA, Aug 10 (Bernama) — More than 107,000 hectares of forest and land have been affected by fires across Indonesia as of Monday, with the government stepping up efforts to prevent transboundary haze from affecting neighbouring countries.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago said Indonesia had received no reports as of Monday that smoke from fires in the country was affecting other countries.
“We have strongly emphasised to our personnel in the field that these efforts are not merely about extinguishing fires and protecting the environment and public health but also about a national responsibility that we have,” he told a press conference on Monday, made available on local media YouTube pages.
Djamari said this in response to a question on whether the government was anticipating possible transboundary haze affecting Malaysia and Singapore and whether it had communicated with the two countries over the issue.
He said about 43 helicopters had been deployed for aerial operations, supported by between 10 and 15 fixed-wing aircraft, depending on operational needs, while substantial personnel and equipment had also been mobilised on the ground.
The minister added that weather modification remained among the most effective measures to tackle the fires, although operations depended on suitable rain-bearing clouds, with forecasts indicating potential cloud formation on three or four days through Aug 18.
He said six provinces, namely Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, were being closely monitored as the most critical areas, warning that strong El Nino conditions could accelerate forest and land fires and were expected to persist until around September or early October.
— BERNAMA