INDONESIA BURNING

In one of the worst environmental disasters in history, forest fires deliberately set by humans in the nation of Indonesia have covered parts of Southeast Asia in a choking smog that is euphemistically called "haze." There had been serious forest fires on the island of Borneo in 1982­83 and 1987­88. The enormous island of Borneo includes the Indonesian area of Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah, which are both part of Malaysia, and the independent nation of Brunei.

The smog has even reached Singapore, the Philippines, peninsular Malaysia, and Thailand.

Worst affected areas

The most severely affected areas are the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Sulawesi, formerly known as the Celebes, has also been affected.

Sulawesi is home to several species of macaque monkeys found nowhere else in the world. Borneo is home to the Bornean orangutan and the rare Proboscis monkey famous for its long nose. Its forests are also home to gibbons, leaf monkeys, and macaques.

Sumatra is home to the Sumatran orangutan, the siamang, and to white­handed and agile gibbons and assorted leaf monkeys and macaques. The off­shore Mentawi Islands, which include Siberut and Pagai, are home to several rare primate species found nowhere else on earth.

Both islands are home to small nocturnal primates.

Non primate threatened species found in the worst fire­ affected areas include the sun bear and Asian elephant (found on islands), the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Sumatran tiger.

Java, less affected, has a small population of around 60 Javan rhino, all living in Ujung Kulong National Park. A small fire in this park was fortunately extinguished on 16 September, the day it started. Java is also home to one of the world's rarest gibbons, the Moloch gibbon.

Rainforests don't normally burn

Rainforests are dark and humid places, and they do not normally burn. The current fires are caused by reckless forest destruction by timber companies: by the setting of deliberate fires by companies clearing land to set up oil palm plantations: and by slash and burn agriculturalists.

Humans have been staying in their homes and covering their faces with masks (when they can get them). But there are no masks for other living creatures. If humans are choking, we can assume that all air­breathing creatures are choking too. If humans will later develop cancer, it is likely other primates will. The damage can only be corrected over decades or centuries ­ if ever.

Fire­fighting is hampered by a lack of fire­fighting equipment and the extreme difficulty of fighting fires in remote locations and the near­impossibility of putting out peat fires which smolder below the ground.

Transmigration

Indonesia's environmental problems are aggravated by the increasing human population of Indonesia's outer islands, once covered with rain­forest. The Jakarta­based government is shipping the surplus population of the island of Java, where Jakarta is located, to other less populated islands, such as Sumatra and Borneo. The new arrivals are given land, often converted forest.

This controversial policy is called "transmigration." There is even a "Minister of Transmigration."

Many of the newcomers are not welcomed by the local people already living there. Many of the local people belong to traditional cultures (such as the Dayaks of Borneo) and have different religious and social traditions from the newcomers. There have been clashes in some areas.

But the newcomers have the support of the all­powerful Indonesian military.

COVERAGE OF FIRES

IPPL has assembled a large file of information about these fires since the crisis developed in September, and we thought you might be interested in some of the information we collected.

Jakarta Post Editorial "Hazy Problem," 13 August 1997

It's that time of the year again. Haze, due to billowing smoke from forest fires, has clouded many parts of the archipelago, particularly in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The haze is wreaking havoc with people's daily activities and becoming a health hazard. The lack of visibility has also disrupted flights and shipping services. Our neighbors Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei are also affected whenever the wind blows in their direction. So far they have not complained too loudly. As usual, the long dry summer has perpetuated the haze problems. But there seems to be no doubt today about the cause of these forest fires. They were deliberately lit to clear land and make way for new plantations, timber estates and new settlements under the government's transmigration program.

Guardian (UK) Editorial, "Indonesia's forest fires warn against tampering with nature," 26 September 1997

Indonesia is not the only culprit but under the Suharto regime it presents a particularly instructive lesson in the downside of economic growth, Asian­style. Three months ago Indonesia's minister of the environment spoke emphatically at the UN Earth Summit in favor of an international treaty to regulate the world's forests.

One month ago Indonesia's President Suharto made a personal visit to Borneo to open a new pulp mill in East Kalimantan owned by one of his closest associates. Indonesia should "take advantage of growing demand for pulp", said Suharto, "in the world market." The mismatch between these two initiatives is painfully obvious and the biggest forest fires are the ones now burning in Indonesian Borneo.

Jakarta Post editorial "Tragedy in Jayapwijaya," 26 September, 1997

In Kalimantan and Sumatra, it is estimated that more than 800,000 hectares [1.9 million acres] of forests have been destroyed. As a result of the smoke, some 32,000 people are said to be suffering respiratory problems and two people are reported to have died so far. By comparison, the fires in Irian Jaya [the Indonesia part of the island of New Guinea] have affected "only" about 80,000 hectares [197,000 acres].

In terms of the toll it takes on human lives, however, the Irian Jaya disaster is surely a far bigger tragedy. Much of the terrain in the disaster­stricken area is well nigh inaccessible except by air, and bringing in supplies is difficult enough without smoke hampering communications. The environmental damage which the drought and the fires have caused in this remote Indonesian province should not be underestimated. Many of the subalpine plant species which grow in Lorentz National Park on the Jayawijaya range are unique to that region and are probably found nowhere else in Indonesia.

New York Times editorial, 27 September 1997

Some good can come of these tragic fires if they persuade Southeast Asia and the nations that import their products to take forest protection seriously. The United States should begin by banning plywood made of tropical hardwood, or requiring country of origin labelling on wood products so consumers can refuse to buy them. Japan, often the buyer of products created by ruinous environmental practices, also needs to rethink its import policies. In the end, however, Southeast Asia's environmental practices will not greatly improve until corruption and authoritarianism diminish. There is too much money to be made by powerful people, and too little attention paid to those groups trying to bring sanity to reckless growth.

Statement by PIJAR (Indonesian environmental group), 27 September 1997

The irony is that Bob Hasan, the country's largest holder of forest concessions, has declared that the fires have been caused by shifting cultivators and peasants. The very opposite is the case. He wants to evade responsibility. The forest concessionaires are the ones who must shoulder responsibility for this catastrophe, along with companies that have been granted industrial timber and transmigration contracts. And above all responsibility must rest with the Department of Forestry which granted all these permits. Deeply concerned at these developments, PIJAR Indonesia herewith demands:

1. The cancellation of all forest concessions. The holders of these concessions are the ones who have wrought such havoc with the environment.

2. The imposition of legal sanctions for the collusion and corruption enveloping the activities of officials from the Department of Forestry and the concessionaires. The Forestry Minister should himself take responsibility for the smog and all the collusion and corruption.

American Reporter, "Indonesian tycoons own firms blamed for forest fires," 27­28 September 1997

An Indonesian ministerial report has blamed 176 logging and plantation firms over the huge forest fires which had already choked most areas in southeast Asia, saying that those companies had conducted the dangerous slash­and­burn practice to clear their land. Some of the 176 companies are owned by Indonesia's wealthiest figures, including Indonesia's No. 1 and No. 2 tycoons Liem Sioe Liong and Eka Tjipta Wijaya, timber tycoon Bob Hasan as well as Prayogo Pangestu of the widely­diversified Barito Pacific Group.

All of them are politically well­connected. Indonesian environmentalists doubt that blame for the annual "slash and burn" fires routinely used to clear land will be placed where it belongs, as the tycoons are widely considered to be more influential here than the ministers...

Liem is a longtime associate to Indonesian President Suharto, who have been friends since the 1950s, when the young lieutenant colonel Suharto was a military commander in Central Java and Liem had just started his business in the province. Hasan is a golfing partner of Suharto's who plays golf twice or thrice a week with the president, encouraging jibes here that Hasan meets with Suharto more often than government ministers usually do.

WALHI (Indonesian environmental group) press release, 1 October 1997

The smoke surrounds the DAS Mengkatip area [in Central Kalimantan] with thick haze (average visibility is from 5 to 20 meters at noon) with the result that community health is threatened and local fauna (orangutan, monkeys, birds, and a small [feline] species are in weakened condition. In fact, in the transmigrant area of Dadahup, several times birds have been found which have fallen while in flight.

Clear air almost never occurs, and the condition of hazy smoke has gone on for three months. In the village of Mengkatip, according to information from local leaders who have lived in the village since 1959, they have never seen smoke like this before, nor have they ever seen their beje­beje (traditional fish ponds) dry out because their water sources were cut off by the canals.

Statement by Kevin Dunion, Chair of Friends of the Earth International, 1 October 1997

The Indonesian government's failure to control the timber and plantation industries and their illegal burning has led to this massive social, ecological and economic disaster. The impacts of these fires on climate change will be felt globally, and the international community must hold the Indonesian government accountable. The government must act immediately to control the fires, provide compensation to those affected, and enforce its own laws to bring these unsustainable industries under control.

Reuters, 1 October 1997

Indonesia on Wednesday conferred honorary five­star general status on President Suharto...

Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday, 1 October 1997, Op­Ed by Indonesian expatriate GeorgeAditjondro

With their logging concessions, timber estates feeding paper and pulp factories, oil palm and rubber plantations, as well as peat and coal mines, these [Malaysian] business interests collectively contribute to the current environmental disaster, by reducing Sumatra and Kalimantan's forest cover and increasing the inflammable biomass in this dry season.

For instance, Malaysia's "sugar king," Robert Kuok, is a co­shareholder with the young Indonesian businessman, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, and his sister­in­law, Titiek Prabowo, in a 44,000 hectare [108,000 acre] oil palm plantation in South Sumatra. Titiek, by the way, is President Soeharto's second daughter and wife of the rising army general Prabowo Subianto.

In Sarawak, business cronies of the Soeharto family, such as the Raja Garuda Mas and Sinar Mas Groups, are involved in timber, pulp, and plantation projects with some very well­connected Malaysian conglomerates such as Ekran Berhad, whose Bakun Dam project has recently been shelved, and Guthrie, the Anglo­Malaysian rubber plantation company.

Mahathir's own son, Mirzan, and Soeharto's son, Bambang Trihatmodjo, are business partners of Malaysia's Berjaya Group. Together with the Suharto family's Musa Group, Berjaya has been accused by environmental groups in the Americas of destroying the rainforests of Suriname and Guyana.

Environmentalists constitute an additional sore point for Mahathir: he has often accused Malaysian environmentalists of being "Western lackeys," who wanted to halt Malaysia's economic growth by opposing tropical deforestation and defending indigenous cultures in Sarawak.

Far Eastern Economic Review, "Spread of oil­plantations fuels fires," 2 October, 1997

The zeal to keep clearing land for plantations will be difficult to extinguish, industry analysts say­­especially in the case of the oil palm. Last year, Indonesian exports of palm oil and palm­oil products were worth more than $1 billion, boosted by growing global consumption of palm­oil products, a 32% increase in the last five years. In fact, official encouragement of the palm­oil industry is partly responsible for the plantation boom.

Government plans call for the production of 7.2 million tons of crude palm oil by 2000, with plantation area more than doubling to 5.5 million hectares [13.6 million acres]. Setting fire to the forest and brush is the cheapest, quickest way to clear land for plantations.

"If you do land­clearing in pioneer areas, where no roads are established, the only practical way to get rid of the debris is to burn it," says A.F.S. Budiman, executive director of the Rubber Association of Indonesia. Alternatives, like manual clearing, are much more labor­intensive, he maintains.

And if a local official tries to enforce the ban? "You just bribe him," Budiman says flatly. "At the most, you promise to give him some shares. Then he'll just wash his hands of the matter. Who will know? It's such a big area"...

In mid­September, for example, a group of villagers from the remote island of Siberut, off West Sumatra, arrived in Jakarta to protest. Back in 1994, Suharto had bowed to environmentalist pressure and ordered all commercial logging on Siberut to cease. Now, 70,000 hectares [173,000 acres] on the island are slated for two new oil­palm plantations. In July, villagers watched aghast as a Jakarta­based firm burned the first 10 hectares [24 acres].

"We don't allow any burning in the forest," says Paulus Aman Beili Kunen Saumanuk, who argued with his 80­year­old father after he found out that the illiterate clan chief had sold rights to 500 hectares [1235 acres] for 300,000 rupiah ($102). "It might destroy all the wood, the rattan and the plants we use for medicine."

Statement issued by the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands meeting in Gland, Switzerland, 2 October 1997

The 27 countries from all regions of the world and 4 global NGOs [non­governmental organizations] gathered in Switzerland for the annual meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) have expressed their grave concern at this disaster. Mrs Louise Lakos, Chairperson of the Standing Committee, noted, "The members of this international conservation body drew attention to the fact that a large proportion of the area burning is peat swamp forest, which constitutes an important global wetland type which we cannot afford to lose. Time is short and action is needed urgently."

Peat swamp forests are waterlogged forests growing on a layer of dead leaves and plant material, up to 20 meters thick. Their continued survival depends on a naturally high water level which prevents the soil from drying out to expose combustible peat matter. Peat swamp forests provide a variety of goods and services, both directly and indirectly, in the form of forestry and fisheries products, energy, flood mitigation, water supply and groundwater recharge.

Sydney Morning Herald, 2 October 1997, "Forest Minister threatens to quit over smoke pall," article by Louise Williams

Indonesia's Forestry Minister, Mr. Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo, has offered to resign over the deadly smoke haze blanketing south­east Asia, as new fires in Indonesia's east threaten the tourist island of Bali. Indonesian officials appealed to villagers not to shoot tigers and monkeys fleeing fires in national parks around Mount Tumpeng, Mount Merbabu and Mount Malabar in Java.

Sydney Morning Herald, 4 October 1997

Air particle levels were nine times above the safe limit yesterday and meteorologists issued a warning to ships and aircraft as changing wind patterns pushed the smoke haze into the Indonesian capital. It was the first time air pollution levels for Jakarta were published. A city official said, "If air quality is dropping and becoming a serious danger, then people must be alerted"...

Three Australians arrived here late on Thursday to take part in a United Nations disaster relief team and aim to assess over the next few days how Australia might best help, using a $2 million relief package announced by the Foreign Minister...

The haze continues to take its toll. Five people were reported dead and four are missing after a motor boat carrying 48 students collided with a freighter on a river in south Sumatra on Wednesday. Thick smog caused the accident, police said.

ABC News, 4 October 1997

The Indonesian government says forest fires that sent a heavy smoke over large areas of Southeast Asia are receding...Earlier, state forestry officials and a company controlled by a timber tycoon were among 29 operations which lost their permits in a government crackdown. Indonesian newspapers report that 69 of the 151 revoked permits belonged to four government companies.

ABC News, 6 October 1997

Forest fires in Indonesia have destroyed 96 thousand hectares [237,000 acres] of vegetation, mainly rain­forests...In the nation's first damage estimate, Forestry Minister Jamaluddin Suryohadikusomo said some 80,000 hectares [197,000 acres] of protected and national rainforests were destroyed.

Sydney Morning Herald, Monday, October 6, 1997, "Southeast Asia's day of Reckoning," article by Louise Williams and Mark Baker

The dream dies hard. The forests which once humbled humankind are now broken and burning. And as the world awakens to an ecological disaster in south­east Asia, the naivete of those who trusted in the permanence of nature ­ and the conceit and greed of those who challenged it ­ is being laid bare.

The early explorers of Borneo found a tropical canopy so dense that from a distance the tops of the trees looked like smooth fields of grass. It was said an orangutan could travel from the south to the north of the vast island without descending from the treetops. So moist was the forest, soaking up the rains which fell four days out of five on average, that it lay like a moist band round the equator. These were the cool, clean lungs of Asia.

Now Asia's lungs, laid open by decades of rampant logging, are ablaze, and tens of millions of people are choking in vast clouds of smog. And now it is not just the great trees which are burning ­ the land itself is on fire. Tens of thousands of hectares of rainforest peat, the most important natural element in fighting greenhouse carbon gases, have been ignited and are facing permanent destruction.

Letter to the Editor, Irish Times, Monday, 6 October, 1997, by Seamus O. Muirthile, resident of Brunei

I am living on the island of Borneo, which is reputed to be the third largest on earth. For well over two months now an eerie and poisonous pall of gloom has canopied the tropical skies of south­east Asia as environmental vandalism on a massive scale is being perpetrated in Indonesia. The super­rich timber barons are burning down the rain­forest to replace it with the monoculture of palm oil trees. Schools have been told to close, huge inconvenience is caused to travellers, and people have been advised to stay indoors. Recently, visibility was down to one meter in Kuching, Sarawak.

The Indonesian government selfishly ignored the seriousness of the situation until the wind changed direction temporarily and blew the noxious fumes back towards them. The situation is now out of control as the coal seams near the surface are burning as well.

So far 800,000 hectares [1,970,000 acres] have been wiped out. The unprecedented dry spell is expected to last for at least another three months due to the El Nino influence.

The Indonesian authorities originally blamed the native swidden farmers of Kalimantan, but this was a cover­up for the licensed logging and plantation companies who deliberately set these fires every year. Despite the pious platitudes being mouthed it is extremely unlikely that these legalized vandals will be brought to book.

In the meantime Borneo is burning while President Suharto fiddles.

Sydney Morning Herald, 8 October 1997

Australian aerial water b>  

Transfer interrupted!

The two water bombers in Sumatra will start in Lampung, where five fires have been identified within 80 kilometers of the provincial capital. "This is an immense problem ­ there are thousands of hot spots all the way up from south Sumatra, with smoke affecting millions," the bombing officer, Mr. Brenton Eden, said.

"This is a very serious environmental situation. This is not an Australian­type fire situation with a running bush fire, but a kind of chess board with fires all over the place."

Statement on the Smog Calamity by Indonesia Anti­Forest Fires Alliance (ASAP­Hutan), 8 October 1997

The tragedy is that the common people are being blamed for starting the fires, in particular the shifting cultivators whose livelihoods are totally dependent upon the forests. The real culprits are the ones whose intimate relations with the ruling circles have made it possible for them to accumulate so much wealth and they are now being made to appear as the ones who are doing everything to help.

On the occasion of Armed Forces Day (5 October), President Suharto apologized on behalf of the Indonesian people to the governments and peoples of neighboring states after first praising the armed forces for coping with the disaster. But wouldn't it be more appropriate to apologize to the people of this country? And to take action against those who are responsible for the catastrophe?

We of the Anti Forest Fires Alliance (ASAP­HUTAN) vehemently protest against these fires which have resulted in the hazardous smog and other damage inflicted on the environment which is wreaking such havoc on people's everyday lives and the welfare of humankind, and we demand:

1) That the executive board and members of the Indonesian Timber Association (MPI) be put on trial. Burning the forests is a criminal act and those responsible, the HPH [forest] concessionaires and members of the MPI, are the ones who ordered that forests be burnt during the dry season. Justice must be seen to take its course.

2) That all the forest concessions (HPH) should be revoked. These HPH concessionaires are the ones responsible for the destruction of nature. The forests should be returned to those who are entitled to them. The people, in particular the forest people, are acutely aware of the need to preserve and protect the forests upon which their very lives depend. Canceling 151 permits from 29 companies cannot be regarded as resolving the problem. In essence, the problem has emerged because of the monopolistic powers that have been granted by the state to the MPI by means of the forest concessions.

3) The government should apologize to the Indonesian people.

Far Eastern Economic Review, "El Nino blamed, but Indonesian inertia is equally responsible for the fires" by John McBeath, 9 October 1997

Almost nightly on Indonesian television, thousands of firefighters armed with little more than water­filled backpacks are shown trying to beat back the blazes that are blanketing Southeast Asia in smoke. Growing alarm has led Malaysia to send 1,200 firefighters to join the assault and Japan to offer pumping equipment and waterjet shooters. It's a frantic effort, but to no avail. The battle is already lost.

There have also been suggestions in the local media that the country's Reafforestation Fund, a nest­egg of levies collected from forest concessions, could somehow be used to battle the haze. The government hasn't yet responded.

The fund which stood at $660 million in 1994 is meant to develop timber estates, but its disbursements have often been controversial. In 1994, Suharto approved a $178 million loan from the fund for the state­run aircraft maker IPTN. More recently, it was the source of a $108 million loan for a pulp and paper mill in East Kalimantan. The owner: Suharto confidant Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, probably the most influential of Indonesia's timber barons.

Steve Strand, a New Zealand­based forestry expert, says the only way to avoid another Southeast Asian smoke­out is to force Indonesian companies to use only mechanical and chemical land­clearing methods. But it will be difficult convincing Indonesian firms to pay as much as $200 per hectare [per 2.74 acres] for something they now get for the price of a matchstick.

Asiaweek, 10 October 1997

Yeung Mo­Man, senior environmental protection officer for Hong Kong, says the only real safeguard for those living in the smoke is to "leave the region." Staying indoors and avoiding physical exertion is the next best option. But cloth masks, no matter how finely meshed, are no use. They will not filter out the respirable suspended particles (RSPs).

Dr. Mok [respiratory medicine specialist] says he hopes researchers from around the world will converge on Indonesia and Malaysia to study the results of the pollution. "It is a great chance to see what happens to humans in such extraordinary circumstances," he says. Calculating? But at least this way governments will learn the human consequences of blind disregard for the environment.

Asiaweek, 10 October 1997, "The reckless torching of Indonesia's forest lands," by Choong Tet Sieu

Perhaps it springs from a desire not to offend. Or maybe it is just slack use of English. Whatever the reason, the noxious yellow­gray clouds that are poisoning Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and resort islands in southern Thailand and the Philippines are referred to as haze. In Indonesia, where this filth comes from, they call it "kabut," meaning mist or fog. Fuzzy, harmless­sounding words that belie the incalculable harm inflicted by what is turning out to be Asia's worst man­made environmental catastrophe.

At the heart of the disaster is the burning­off of Indonesia's forest lands for agricultural purposes, an annual activity that briefly raises pollution levels in neighboring countries, but which is forgotten once the September rains settle in and douse the flames. But not this year. The fires are out of control, partly because of the super­dry conditions caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, but mainly because just about anything goes in Indonesia's forests these days.

In the smog­engulfed Indonesian provinces of Jambi and Riau, in Sumatra, the air is so polluted that a local doctor compares breathing to smoking four packs of cigarettes a day ­ for every man, woman and child. The grit­laden air brings tears to the eyes, chokes the lungs and produces darkness at noon. The smoke is so thick it hides the fires it springs from. Yet in the Riau provincial capital of Pekanbaru, as elsewhere in the burning zones ­ officials have done little to inform residents of the health risk.

Investigators are probing the possibility that smoke may have contributed to the September 26 crash of a Garuda Airbus on its approach to Medan airport, northern Sumatra. All 234 people on board died, making it Indonesia's worst air disaster. The crews of two aircraft circling the airport at the time say Airbus captain Henche Rachmo Wiyogo had complained about a blinding haze before seeking guidance from air traffic control.

Reports say that after a confusing exchange of messages, Wiyogo had time merely to cry out "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) before the plane hit a mountainside.

Hours later, a supertanker and an Indian cargo ship collided in the smog­shrouded Strait of Malacca. Rescuers picked up five survivors from the Indian vessel. The other 29 on board were feared drowned. Clouds of ash also prevented relief flights to remote Jayawijaya in Irian Jaya, where 271 people have died because of drought­induced famine.

In the past, Indonesia's forest fires were started mostly by shifting cultivators: small farmers using slash­and­burn methods. But now the torching is on an industrial scale ­­ by operators of new palm­oil estates and tree plantations. Indonesia is set on raising output from its key timber, palm­oil and rubber sectors. To help meet targets, the government has in recent years allocated plantation companies vast tracts of jungle and swamp in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The jungle is dense and often without roads. Rather than struggle with heavy clearing equipment, managers find it easier and cheaper to set fire to the area.

By 1995, the burning had become such a problem the Indonesian government banned the practice. The order did little to change things. "Everyone knows that this isn't supposed to go on, but poorly paid agriculture and forestry inspectors just need to be given a bribe and they forget it's happening," says a plantation sector analyst.

Asiaweek, 10 October 1997, "We are suffocating ­ No escape for the people of Jambi"

What is life like under the asphyxiating pall created by the burning forests of Sumatra? Australian radio and television journalist Andrea Thomson visited the town of Jambi, in the center of the island. From inside the ring of fire, she filed this eyewitness report:

On my last morning in Jambi, I decide to visit the health clinic. On the way, my driver, Zulfan, explains how the smoke has disrupted his life: "This morning, like most mornings, I wake with a headache. In my stomach I feel very strange, and my eyes, they sting." I ask him how long he thinks Jambi can go on like this. He turns to me with a pained look. "Jambi cannot handle these things. This has gone on too long. We have not seen the sun

for more than a month. We are suffocating"...

How can the outside world understand what is facing the people of Jambi? No matter how heavy the air becomes, no matter how seemingly impossible the next breath, there is no escape from the smoke. Until the monsoon rains break later this year ­ maybe not even until next year ­ the lives of the young, the sick and the elderly will be at risk this way. Such is the reality of life at the center of one of the world's most senseless man­made catastrophes.

Asiaweek, 10 October 1997, "The Bad Boy is back" by Robin Ajello

El Nino is a convenient fall guy. Whenever the infamous weather pattern appears, sensible folk start cursing it for everything that goes awry.

Consider the Indonesian disaster­coordination official who blames the phenomenon for the forest fires that are consuming vast hectarage of tropical rain forest and choking people in five countries. "It's a natural disaster that no one could have prevented," says Azwar Anas, who neglects to mention that most of the fires are man­made.

ABC News, 11 October 1997

Forestry Minister Jamaluddin Suryohadikusomo was quoted in the local media as saying the government had NOT been able to enforce logging regulations. He said concession­holders often logged outside of their designated areas and violated other regulations due to a lack of supervision.

He said 90% of the raw materials used in Indonesia's timber industry, now the second largest source of foreign exchange after oil and gas, came from virgin forests.

Australian Financial Review, Monday, October 13, 1997, "Palm Oil Nepotism adds fuel to disaster"

In this case, is not only a problem of extinguishing the fire. It is a matter of halting the alarming rate of tropical deforestation in Indonesia.

In this case, nobody has more power than Soeharto himself. Yet the President, two of his brothers, five of his children and one grand­child are the most reluctant to make the necessary sacrifices, due to their logging operations, oil palm plantations, a mega­project to convert 200,000 hectares [495,000 acres] of peat swamps in Central Kalimantan into rice fields for transmigrants from overcrowded Java, coal mines, pulp and paper production, as well as palm oil marketing...

Oil palm illustrates the power of Indonesia's First Family, since three generations of the Soeharto family are involved in this lucrative business.

ABC News, 14 October 1997

The number of forest fires in Indonesia is increasing, with reports of more fires being deliberately lit. The AFP News agency says some plantation owners appear to be ignoring the government's repeated warnings against starting fires...Antara says satellite photos showed 62 fires detected since Sunday, in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan [Indonesian Borneo] and Sulawesi.

CNN News, 24 October 1997

The orangutan ­ the shaggy, reddish­brown ape found in the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra ­ is running for its life. The brush fires and thick smoke sweeping through the islands, and the drought caused by El Nino weather phenomenon, threaten to shrink the animals' already small habitat. It is one of the tragedies of the ecological disaster Asia has experienced for months. Orangutans aren't the only animals affected by the disaster. Reports of maulings by rare Sumatran tigers and wild elephant stampedes show animals fleeing their normal jungle range. But the plight of the orangutan is particularly poignant since the animal is a protected species. "It's dry," says Satrio, a caretaker in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province in Borneo. "The wild orangutans come out of the forest to escape the fires. They go to villages to find food and water. That's when they're hunted.

East Kalimantan is the site of a rehabilitation center [Wanariset] in which orangutans raised as pets are reacclimated before being set free in the protected Sungai Wain forest...

Reuters, 26 October

US Air Force planes surveyed fires on the main Indonesian island of Java Sunday to assess where they could best be used to help control the blazes, a US Embassy official said. . .

The aircraft, due to stay in Indonesia for up to 60 days, would be used to combat fires in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Java. Satellite data from the coordinating post of the Environmental Impact Management Agency showed hotspots, thought to be fires, concentrated in the provinces of East and Central Kalimantan as well as South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.

Associated Press, Jakarta, 26 October 1997

More than a hundred orangutan are believed to have been abused or killed by locals in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan since forest fires have consumed their natural habitats, a report said Sunday. Dr. Willie Smits, an expert from the Forestry Ministry, said 120 orangutan had been abused and killed by local residents in the past four months, some out of fear and others for commercial purposes, Suara Pembaruan reported.

"I have to check on the 120 number as I myself have yet to receive a report," Heru Basuki Sukiran, the head of the province's forestry department, told the afternoon daily.

Smits could not confirm how many of the 120 had been killed but said the trend was on the rise as the animals continued to flee their habitats that have been inundated by smoke coming from nearby forest fires.

He described the situation as "very sad" and appealed to locals not to tease or attack the animals, whom he called "harmless."

Orangutan, especially babies, can bring up to 350,000 rupiah (100 dollars) in the East Kalimantan capital of Samarinda and in neighboring large cities.

SATELLITE PHOTOS OF FIRES ON WEB

To see excellent satellite photos of "Indonesia Burning," check the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website:

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/special.html

A VOICE FROM INDONESIA

A biologist working in Sumatra told IPPL:

Very difficult to work in the forest now. This continual smoke inhalation makes walking very tiring, also primates and other animals are now very clearly being affected.

Siamang and ungko [agile gibbons] have virtually ceased long calls, hornbills also uncharacteristically silent and, judging by the scrape marks and calls heard over the past ten days, the smoke is also causing stress and tension among tigers.

Is this situation making news in America?
 
 

IPPL COMMENTS ON FIRES

The ongoing damage to the forests and wildlife of Indonesia is a tragedy that leaves ordinary people feeling helpless. There are so many fires and many are in inaccessible areas where water and fire­fighting supplies are non­existent or in short supply. Fortunately fire­fighting professionals from around the world, including the United States, Australia and Malaysia, have converged on Indonesia. Sadly, they can't be everywhere at one time and there are dozens of fires on several islands.

Further, the problems result from the actions of short­sighted, tyrannical, and often corrupt governments, greed­motivated corporations, and the policies of international institutions like the World Bank.

IPPL has sent funds to help with veterinary care of rescued wildlife at the Tanjung Puting National Park. But we know it's just a drop in the bucket. At least it provides some relief to some suffering animals.

The deforestation of Indonesia would not be happening but for world demand for tropical wood and palm oil products. Palm oil is widely used for cooking and preparation of soap, despite palm oil being a heavily saturated fat. For these reasons you should check labels on food you purchase and avoid any containing "tropical oils."

Wood from Indonesian and other tropical forests is used to produce expensive furniture and items such as music­stands. When you buy any wood products, try to check the origin of the wood. Avoid rosewood, teak and mahogany.

Various groups are working on wood certification standards. As soon as we learn of an effective one, we will let you know.

Also look carefully at paper products. Even notebooks are often made of paper from Indonesian and other tropical forests. Check the country of origin of paper products whenever you can and use recycled paper.

Sadly, the forests of Amazonia are also burning and the African forests are being rapidly destroyed, leaving the future bleak for forest peoples and animals.
 

 
Meet Arun Rangsi, one of IPPL's Sanctuary Gibbons

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