VZCZCXRO6263
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0043/01 2212338
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 092338Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8532
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 2089
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9965
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 9819
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3573

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 010043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, OES/IET, AND OES/ETC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV KTIA TPHY TBIO ECON ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA - HAZE SEASON UNDERWAY AGAIN 
 
REF: A) 05 JAKARTA 10673, B) 05 JAKARTA 09022 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Fires burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan 
have sent haze once again throughout the region.  Haze 
problems reached alarming levels in late July, with the 
Indonesian press reporting over 2,000 hot spots on Sumatra 
island and another 1,000 hot spots in Kalimantan during the 
week of July 24.   While local authorities in the provinces 
of Riau and West Kalimantan have told us that rain showers 
have cleared the air recently, large numbers of hot spots 
remain.  On August 8, Ministry of Finance (MOF)-Japan 
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) data revealed 699 
hotspots in Sumatra and 957 in Kalimantan.  Although the 
Government of Indonesia (GOI) has stepped up prevention 
efforts in recent years, progress is slow and annual haze 
production is expected to remain high until the end of the 
dry season in October.  In an effort to crack down on fire 
perpetrators this year, the Riau provincial administration 
is moving to seize land that has been cleared by burning. 
End summary. 
 
Haze Production a Recurring Problem 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) As our colleagues in Malaysia are painfully aware, 
forest and peat fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and the 
resultant haze (particulate pollution) which spreads to 
neighboring countries, are an annual problem during the dry 
season which lasts approximately from April through October. 
According to media reports, the Ministry of Forestry was 
tracking over 2,000 hot spots in Sumatra and another 1,000 
hot spots in Kalimantan during the week of July 24.  On July 
29, satellite images detected over 130 hot spots in Riau 
province alone. 
 
¶3. (U) The fires are due to land clearing in forest areas 
for plantations and shifting cultivation practices by small 
scale farmers.  The fires burned more than 3,000 hectares in 
Riau, including 1,500 hectares of the Mahato-Rokan Hulu 
protected forest and Tesso Nilo National Park.  While 
rainfall extinguished some fires in early August, the number 
of hotspots remains high.  On August 7, NOAA satellite data 
reported by MOF-JICA revealed 406 hotspots in Sumatra and 
934 hotspots in Kalimantan, the majority of which were in 
West Kalimantan.  The same data revealed 90 hotspots in 
Sabah, the Malaysian section of Borneo. 
 
¶4.  (U) The spillover of haze from Indonesia to surrounding 
areas has raised criticism from neighboring countries. 
Malaysia and Thailand both complained about the increase in 
haze from Indonesia in recent weeks.  Malaysia's 
Meteorological Service reported that the air pollution was 
near unhealthy levels -- over 100 particles per microgram 
(ppm) -- in southern ports and areas near the capital city 
as a result of the haze, while health officials in southern 
Thailand advised vulnerable residents to stay inside. 
 
Government Prevention Efforts Have Limited Impact 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Each year, the GOI announces stronger measures and 
new programs to combat this problem but with minimal 
success.  Although the GOI has urged local governments to 
take firm steps to prevent forest and peat fires and has 
created a legal framework for forest and land fire 
management, large numbers of fires continue to emerge.  Slow 
progress is the result of resource constraints at the local 
level and the GOI's weak track record in prosecuting and 
convicting companies and small scale farmers for using 
burning to clear farmland and forest concessions. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Most recently, President Yudhoyono instructed 
governors, regents, and heads of related regional 
institutions to take concrete action to stop smoke haze from 
spreading to neighboring countries at a June fire prevention 
conference.  The GOI is also cooperating with the Malaysian 
government to crackdown on plantation firms that use burning 
to clear land.  (Note:  Many Malaysian plantation companies 
operate in Sumatra and Kalimantan.  End Note.)  In recent 
years the GOI has undertaken additional central measures 
that include the formation of fire combating groups 
(Manggala Agni) and operational centers (posko); activation 
of fire prevention and management centers (Pusdalkarhutla); 
and the adoption of an internationally recognized "Fire 
Danger Rating System".  However, because the GOI provides 
mostly regulatory assistance and information support to 
 
JAKARTA 00010043  002 OF 002 
 
 
local governments, local authorities are required to fund 
their own efforts to combat fires.  This policy has resulted 
in the use of methods, such as water spray, injections, and 
digging ditches for containment, that have proven 
ineffective in stopping large fires in remote and large peat 
areas. 
 
¶7. (U) Local organizations have taken some positive steps 
this year.  All Sumatra and Kalimantan governors signed an 
MOU on forest and land fire prevention in June.  The 
Regional Environmental Impact Management Agency (BAPEDALDA) 
conducted fire prevention and fire combat training with 
local farmers and local companies, and distributed water 
pumps to nine subdistricts, one NGO and six regencies this 
year. 
 
¶8.  (U) In order to investigate perpetrators and send a 
deterrent signal, the provincial government of Riau also is 
moving to seize lands that have been cleared by burning. 
After seizing the land, authorities will be able to track 
the financiers who are behind the burning.  Riau Governor 
Ruslie Zainal said on July 31, "We will set up police lines 
in the affected areas to aid the investigations."  He noted 
his officials will use air surveillance to take photos of 
the burned areas.  "We are going to hunt down the 
perpetrators and punish them, be they financial backers or 
land owners." 
 
PASCOE