VZCZCXRO1165
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1339/01 2250501
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130501Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3060
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS COLL
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3648
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001339 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/ENRC, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EAIR SENV ID
SUBJECT: SUMATRA: FOREST FIRES IN RIAU DISRUPT LIFE AND IMPACT 
REGION 
 
REF: JAKARTA 1330 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. Increasingly serious levels of haze and smoke 
resulting from forest fires mainly concentrated in Riau Province, 
Sumatra, have had a severe impact on daily life in the province 
during the first half of August. The smoke and haze caused by the 
fires have created flight diversions and delays, school closings, 
and packed hospitals with respiratory ailments mainly among 
children. The 2009 Summer fire season represents the most serious 
levels of smoke and haze since 2006 in the province and has impacted 
air quality in Malaysia and Singapore. Political will in the 
province to counter those responsible remains weak and information 
on the perpetrators continues to be unclear. End Summary. 
 
Impact on Flights, Schools, and Hospitals 
----------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) From August 1 through August 10 Riau airport authorities 
report an average of 17 flights per day in and out of Pekanbaru, 
capital of Riau Province, have been delayed due to haze and low 
visibility. Several flights have also been diverted to Polonia Medan 
International Airport in North Sumatra and the smaller airport at 
the coastal port of Dumai has also been affected. The haze mainly 
affects morning flights and tends to clear up during the day, but is 
causing significant disruption and delays in flight schedules. 
¶3. (U) School officials in Riau report that at the end of last week, 
on August 7 and 8 eleven of twelve subdistrict schools in the 
District of Pelalawan, heavily affected by smoke and haze from 
forest fires, were forced to close. They have since reopened. No 
provincial-level order has been issued regarding school closures but 
local officials are monitoring air quality. 
¶4. (U) Riau Province health officials report a sharp increase in 
respiratory ailments in the province, mainly among children under 10 
years of age. While still treatable as outpatients up to this time, 
provincial authorities are expecting the distribution of thousands 
of masks in coming days for Riau residents. Hospitals have been able 
to cope with increased service demand thus far, but are also 
carefully monitoring the spike in illness. 
 
Conflicting Reports on Responsibility 
-------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) The yearly blame game regarding who is responsible for the 
hundreds of "hot spots" around Riau has again gone into high gear. 
Local environmental NGO's Jikalahari and Walhi blame Sinar Mas 
Group's Asia Pulp and Paper for a full 25 percent of the fires. 
Walhi is also focusing on a law from 1990 which makes it illegal to 
expand plantations on land where peat runs more than three meters 
deep. Chevron's local subsidiary in Riau meanwhile is also 
monitoring air quality and indicates that while the situation is 
improving after recent rains many public schools near their Duri 
camp operation were also closed. Chevron, who is not involved in 
land clearance or accused in any of these fires, believes that the 
main culprits behind the forest fires are small landowners around 
large plantations who generally burn one hectare or less of land but 
when multiplied by thousands of smallholders this clearly becomes a 
major, yearly issue. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Pekanbaru's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Body 
(BKMG) reported to the media on August 9 they were monitoring 110 
major fire points that day throughout the province. Statistics for 
the first half of 2009 compiled by local NGO Jikalahari show a total 
of 4,800 fires throughout Riau during the period. In conversations 
with the Indonesian Palm Oil Producer's Association on Medan on 
August 10 and previous talks July 31 with Conservation Manager for 
Belgian-owned PT Tolan Tigga also based in Medan the industry claims 
that land bordering their estates held by smallholders is often 
burned as small operators lack the means for other types of 
clearance. 
¶7.  (SBU) While acknowledging it may look like their estates are to 
blame, industry representatives are firm in denying responsibility 
and assert with some credence that their business model is not based 
on slash and burn expansion activity. Nevertheless, large plantation 
expansion including infrastructure like roads and processing 
services used by smallholders, feeds into the overall incentives to 
clear forest. The reliance of smallholders on large plantations to 
buy and process their product creates a symbiotic relationship 
linked to the forest fire problem making the large plantation 
companies indirectly complicit. 
 
¶8. (U) Rachmad Witoelar, Indonesia's Environment Minister, was also 
in Riau on Saturday August 8 along with his Malaysian colleague 
Dato' Douglas Unggah Embas to distribute air pollution monitoring 
equipment provide by the Malaysian government. He was quoted by 
local media as saying "Regional government, in this case the 
Governor, Bupati (District Chief) and Mayor are still soft and not 
 
JAKARTA 00001339  002 OF 002 
 
 
optimal to overcome this problem." The Malaysian Environment 
Minister called on Malaysian companies, who have heavily invested in 
Riau Province, to respect Indonesian law with regard to land 
clearance methods. 
 
Little Local Political Will/Praying for Rain 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) The Singaporean Consul based in Pekanbaru, Riau met with 
Medan Pol/Econoff on August 9 in Medan and reported that both Riau 
Governor Rusli Zainal and the Mayor of Pekanbaru have dismal 
reputations for combating illegal logging, burning, and expansion of 
plantations in Riau. While not directly complicit, he indicated that 
they create an environment of impunity with regard to the burning 
methods and uncontrolled expansion of plantation operations and 
added his belief that they probably receive indirect benefits in the 
form of corrupt payments from large abusers. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Governor Rusli Zainal has faced longstanding allegations 
of his support for illegal logging and turning a blind eye to 
environmental damage since his time as District Chief in Riau. While 
never proven, his current lack of action and perceived lack of 
political will observed by everyone in Riau bodes ill for efforts to 
rein in the forest fire problems in the province. Despite welcome 
and successful U.S. Army Pacific-led Disaster Prevention training 
(reftel) focused on forest fires conducted in Riau between July 27 
and July 31 the resources and political will remain lacking to 
affect real change in this yearly cycle. 
¶11. (SBU) Only five perpetrators have been detained by police during 
the current fire season and the Singaporean Consul told Medan 
Pol/Econoff that suspects are routinely released after payments are 
made to police making even apprehension of suspects totally 
ineffective in preventing the spread of these fires. Governor Zainal 
has publicly asked the frustrated residents of Riau to hold a mass 
prayer for rain on Friday August 14, claiming a lack of funds and 
local resources to combat the problem. Several days of rain have 
tamped down the fires and effect of the smog and haze early the week 
of August 10 but dry periods in the coming weeks could see recent 
problems return or magnify. 
 
HUME