Indonesian Forestry Minister Djamaluddin said in January that Indonesia could experience a second year of prolonged drought this year because of the El Nino effect. His warnings are supported by experts at the Integrated Forest Fires Management project in East Kalimantan (IFFM). El Nino phenomenon is an upwelling of warmer water in the Pacific Ocean that disrupts global climate patterns. Typically the main dry season in Indonesia is May - October.
Last year's droughts were the worst in decades. Although the wet season has arrived in Sumatra and Java (including the capital, Jakarta), it has been shorter than usual and eastern Indonesia has had little or no rain. There has been famine in the highlands of West Papua for several months. Indonesian forest experts and NGOs are concerned about the risk of forest fires. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has said an estimated one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of peat was still burning in Indonesia.
Indonesia is in the throes of a severe economic and political crisis and the central government has taken noaction to prevent further outbreaks of fires. Massive foreign debts and the instability of the rupiah will limit opportunities to buy in assistance from abroad. Local authorities do not have the funds or equipment to tackle large-scale blazes and there are already serious water shortages in some provinces.
No official figures for the cost of damage caused by last year's fires have been released, but it is estimated that over of 2 million hectares of forest were destroyed. Less than 100 million hectares of Indonesia are now covered with forest. The 1997 fires (and those which have occurred on a lesser scale every year for the last decade) are widely believed to be caused largely by plantation and transmigration companies clearing land by burning on a large scale. Also fires started by settlers and traditional forest farmers to clear land for cultivation quickly spread and got out of control in the dry conditions.
Summary of fires
23rd Jan:
Although some parts of Central Sulawesi have had rain, the Palu Valley is still very dry. It rained briefly in mid-December, but there has been none since. Sources fear food shortages. (pers com)
24th Jan:
After some light rain in December and early January, East Kalimantan is now very dry. There are reports of many new forest fires breaking out. The situation looks even more dangerous than the period leading up to the 1982/3 Great Fire of Borneo. The authorities have used violence in several places to stop traditional farmers from preparing their fields by burning. NGOs cannot monitor the situation in the field due to a clamp-down on their activities in advance of the Presidential election in March.
25th Jan:
The Indonesian news agency, Antara, said on Sunday that satellite images made by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed hundreds of "hot spots," or areas affected by bushfires in various parts of Kalimantan on Borneo. Many of the hot spots were located at the Bukit Suharto forest reserve in East Kalimantan province. Motorists had complained of poor visibility on roads near the reserve, it said. (Reuters)
26th Jan:
Satellite data shows that hundreds of hotspots have appeared in East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, and more than 200 on Sumatra since the end of December, when the monsoon ended prematurely. In East Kalimantan an oil company had to evacuate 50 people from a rig surrounded by blazing brush. The huge peat swamps in South Sumatra which produced much of last year's noxious smog are starting to burn again. (The Guardian UK)
27th Jan:
A report has been sent from the AusAid office in Dili to the Australian Government requesting urgent assistance for thousands of Timorese hit by failing crops and the increase in price of basic necessities, such as rice, on the back of the Indonesian currency crisis. The report states that the worst hit region is the island of Atauro, 32km off the coast of Dili. (The Australian)
28th Jan:
The president of East Timor's local assembly announced the administration of Dili would send ten tons of rice to alleviate the famine on the East Timorese island of Atauro facing food shortages. He said there was no cause for alarm since "the rain that started falling this week would minimise the effects of this year's bad agricultural production.Other sources were not so optimistic, in view of shortages of rice and corn in the city markets. (Lusa)
28th Jan:
A consortium of NGOs in East Kalimantan issued a press release calling on the local government to take preventative action against the effect of the fires and Indonesia's economic crisis on the local community who are already suffering rising prices and the threat of crop failure/food shortage. (translated DtE 5/2/98)
28th Jan:
NOAA satellite images showed 93 'hot spots' in East Kalimantan.The governor of the province has put staff on 'red alert'. The main areas at risk are Kutai National Park, the Bukit Suharto reforestation area and forests at Sungai Wein, Samboja (Kutai). 23 of the 'hot spots' in Bukit Suharto are coal seams which have been smoldering since 1982. Fires in forests, scrub and cultivated land have been reported from Samarinda, Sebulu, Muara Kaman, Muara Wahau, Bontang, Sangatta and Berau. The total area affected is not known. (Kompas Online)
28th Jan:
Due to low rainfall, river levels are low in East Kalimantan. The public drinking water company can no longer supply the coastal city of Samarinda due to salt water intrusion up the River Mahakam. It hopes to supply water by tanker and by drilling new wells. (Kompas Online)
3rd Feb:
Fire has damaged at least 369ha of forest and scrub in East Kalimantan, according to the local government monitoring team. NOAA satellite shows at least 150 'hot spots' scattered throughout the province. In Kutai district the following timber/plantation companies' land is affected: PT Inhutani I, PT ITCI, PT Oceanis Timber Product, PT Sumber Mas V, PT Sumber Mas II, PT Persada Bumi Hijau, PT Porodisa Trading Indonesia and PT GPI/Kiani Lestari. In Berau and Bulungan districts there are fires in the concessions of PT Gunung Raya Utama Timber, PT Inhutani I and PT Indah Meranti Permata Timor Coy.
4th Feb:
Concerned individuals in the island of West Sumba appeal for help. Crops have failed due to little or no rainfall, and attacks by insect pests and fungi. People have no food and are selling their livestock. The situation is especially bad in the Kodi area. (apakabar@clark.net)
9th Feb:
Journalists and members of the National Disasters Co-ordination surveyed the extent of forest fires in East Kalimantan by helicopter. The worst hit area is the coast part of Kutai National Park where almost all the forest has been burnt. There was also serious fire damage along the Bontang-Sangatta road and along the road south of Bontang in the Protected Forest areas of Bontang, Tanjungsantan and Muarabadak. The Governor of East Kalimantan said 1,813 hectares of forest had been burnt and that this figure would increase as fires were still breaking out. (Kompas)
11th Feb:
Minister of Forestry Djamaluddin summonded two East Kalimantan plantation companies to Jakarta. The companies, which were not named, are thought to have cleared their land by burning. (Kompas Online)
16th Feb:
Since early February there have been riots in many Indonesian towns over rising food prices and shortages of nine basic household goods. Unusually, some have been in small towns on outer islands including Donggala, Ende and Bima. Others have been in quarters of major cities (e.g. Ujung Pandang). Most have been in small towns in Java : Rembang, Pasuruan, Jember, Tuban, Subang. Now unrest is reported from towns within 200km of Jakarta: in Jatiwangi (12/2/98); Losari (12/2/98); Ciasem (12/2/98); Rangkasbitung (13/2/98); and Serpong (14/2/98). (ekspos@hotmail.com)