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Thick smoke blankets Riau

Detik - July 13, 2000

C.A Tanjung/SWA & LM, Jakarta – Thick smoke blanketing Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, Sumatra, since Wednesday has been attributed to land clearing activities by businesses holding Forest Concession Rights (HPH), coconut palm oil plantations and small scale farmers all extending the boundaries of their land.

Chairman of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) for Region I of Sumatra, Drs Teuku Alamsyah, spoke with Detik from Pekanbaru today, Thursday.

"Our observations are that the thick smog enveloping Pekanbaru is a direct result of forest fires lit by several business persons holding Forest Concession Rights (HPH) and by coconut palm oil plantation owners," Alamsyah said. He added that, based on the data collected by Bapedal for Region I of Sumatra, as many as 102 hot spots are currently burning in several municipalities across Riau province. The vast majority of the hot spots are located within Forest Concession Rights (HPH) and coconut palm oil plantation areas. Local people are also clearing land to extend their fields.

Twenty-one hot spots are located in Kampar municipality, 6 in Siak, 5 in Rokan Hulu and 12 in Pelelawan municipality. "The rest of the hot spots are spread across the Riau islands, Kuantan Singingi, Bengkalis and around the city of Pekanbaru," said Alamsyah.

Alamsyah indicated that forest concessions owned by PT Mandau Abadi and PT. Arara Abadi are primarily responsible for the burning in Kampar municipality. The 11 other hot spots in Kampar are attributed to plantations owned by PT. Karyatama Bhakti Mulya, PT. Subur Arum Makmur and PT. Sawit Rokan Hulu.

In Rokan Hulu municipality, the hot spots are located in forestry concessions owned by PT. Kulim Coy and a coconut palm oil plantation owned by PT. Sawit Rokan Indah. Hot spots are located in plantation areas owned by PT. Inti Prima and PT. Sari Lembah Subur in the Pelelawan municipality.

"This data concerning the hot spots is temporary. The conditions will change rapidly. The number may increase tomorrow because the fires may spread," said Alamsyah. He urged the Riau Provincial government to take strict action against those companies.