Maryadi/Lyndal Meehan, Jakarta – Smog in and around Pontianak, West Kalimantan, caused by slash and burn land clearing has reached hazardous levels while the local government has yet to even "fly the flag" and inform residents of the dangerous situation.

The latest data from the Pontianak Air Pollution Control Station shows that the Standard Air Pollution Index is currently at 559 micrograms per cubic meter. 400-500 is considered extremely dangerous and beyond the 500 mark, the levels of dust and smoke debris in the air cannot be measured with accuracy.

According to the Head of the Regional Environmental Impact Control Council for West Kalimantan, Ir Soeparno Soehadi MS, Kalimantan's forests are being burned for the development of industry, plantations or small scale farming without regard for the environmental or the human impact. He is warning of an international disaster. "If the land clearing is not stopped immediately, a smog disaster similar to the one in 1997 will happen all over again," he said. To Detik, Thursday.

In 1997, thousands were hospitalised with respiratory difficulties and a thick pall of smoke enveloped the archipelago and reached into Malaysia, Singapore and beyond. Not to mention the thousands of trees felled for the slash and burn practices of land hungry companies and the near annihilation of numerous species of rare animals, including the island's orangutans.

Soeparno admitted that the provincial government is utterly unprepared to deal with the disaster, lacking firefighting equipment capable of extinguishing the numerous and increasingly intense blazes. "Last year to put out the fires we asked for help from foreign countries like Malaysia with their bombing teams," he said. The government will once again be seeking foreign assistance. "Like the assistance offered in the past by America, who are prepared to help with equipment," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief of the Environmental Authority at the Provincial level, based in Pontianak, Anwar Akil SH, has urged locals to stay in doors to avoid the worst of the smoke. The most dangerous time, he said, was during the night till the early morning. "If one needs to go out at night, it's best if they use a face mask," he said.

In 1997, the government's response to the disaster was to look the other way and hope it would just disappear. Not least because, a good proportion of the damage was being carried out by companies owned and/or controlled by the ruling family and their cronies, such as Bob Hasan. Thousands of facemasks were eventually distributed free, first by student and environmental groups and then by the government.

This week, the President ordered the formation of a Task Force to tackle the fire hazard although it's function is unclear. According to Detik's observations, however, the authorities have yet to display the necessary "sign posts" in public places which inform the community of the dangerousness of the situation. Let alone providing facemasks, or taking action against those burning off illegally.