PEKANBARU- Haze has once again blanketed the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan in recent weeks. Millions of residents are again exposed to smoke that is harmful to health. Last week (04/09), the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stated that up to 80 percent of Sumatra was covered in haze and 25.6 million residents of Sumatra and Kalimantan were exposed to haze due to forest and land fires. Not only that, thousands of hectares of burned forest and land are also conservation areas that threaten the safety of wildlife in them, including endangered species.

WWF Indonesia appreciates and welcomes the positive response of President Joko Widodo who has ordered the National Police and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to take firm action against the perpetrators of arson and those who are doing negligence. But of course it is not enough to stop there. A comprehensive solution is needed, especially through prevention efforts, including through intensive monitoring to update field conditions and law enforcement against the practice of forest destruction and burning. Only through these efforts will the incidents of forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan not be repeated.

"Mapping the status of land use that is vulnerable and often burns and proposing an evaluation of licenses are fundamental steps that must be taken by the Government. In addition, we reiterate the need to strengthen law enforcement as a deterrent effect for the perpetrators, both individuals and companies," said Anwar Purwoto, Program Director of Sumatra - Kalimantan WWF - Indonesia. "The problem of encroachment in conservation areas must be resolved by the Government so as not to increase losses for the state and have a negative impact on the environment."

Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN) was ravaged by fire again in August and had 35 accumulative hotspots within four days (August 30 - September 3). The TNTN Center has played an active role in coordinating and extinguishing the fires by mobilizing dozens of joint personnel from the government, private sector and NGOs including WWF Indonesia.

The team, consisting of personnel from the TNTN Center, TNI, Flying Squad, Fire Care Community and companies operating around TNTN, RAPP and Asian Agri, managed to extinguish the fire despite limited equipment. The fire was detected on September 1, 2015, about 2 kilometers from the Flying Squad Camp in Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village, Ukui District, Pelalawan. The lack of water sources was enough to make extinguishing the land in the former PT RAPP acacia concession area, which overlaps the TNTN area, a long process. The fire was only completely extinguished on September 5, 2015, after the fire line was cut using heavy equipment from the company. Approximately 50 ha of former acacia land is estimated to have burned.

In addition to Tesso Nilo National Park, Bukit Betabuh protected forest, which is a tiger habitat in Riau, has also been targeted by recent fires. Suhandri, Sumatra Regional Leader of WWF Indonesia said, "Optimal protection of conservation areas from encroachment and land burning must be the focus of attention. Area stakeholders must cooperate with law enforcement, so that the actions taken will create a deterrent effect for the perpetrators."

Suhandri also emphasized the importance of farmers and palm oil industry entrepreneurs to always obey the laws and regulations related to the prohibition of land encroachment and burning practices. "With such obedience, their products will not be contaminated by matters related to these illegal practices," he said.

Tesso Nilo National Park head Tandya Tjahjana said the rampant encroachment was proportional to the number of hotspots in recent times including this September. "The arrest of three suspects of forest burning in Tesso Nilo National Park in July must be followed by the confiscation of encroached land that will be planted with oil palm plantations, and other actions to provide a deterrent effect," Tandya said. "Likewise, the current perpetrators must be dealt with legally and prevent them from using areas that are not according to their designation, let alone protected. Prevention efforts are carried out by installing information and prohibition boards around the area, while in the former fire area a PPNS monitoring board is installed to prevent disturbance in the area.

Until now the Tesso Nilo National Park Center team, Fire Concerned Communities, Companies, WWF are still in the field in fire alert and fire fighting efforts "We are securing areas that have been burned and then gradually restoration will be carried out together with stakeholders, added Tandya.

Note to Editor:

Photos can be downloaded at: http://bit.ly/KabutAsap2015

For more information, please contact:

Syamsidar, Communications Manager, Central Sumatra Program, WWF-Indonesia
Email: syamsidar@wwf.or.id, Hp: 08126896095

Didin Hartoyo, Public Relations of Tesso Nilo National Park Center
Email: hartoyo_didin@yahoo.com, Hp: 081328115946