TEMPO.CO, Pekanbaru - Fires across Riau's Eastern coastal peatlands have continued to burn - with at least 310.25 hectares of peat land destroyed in Meranti, along with 50 hectares of residents' sago crops.
Riau Province Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BPBD) Head of Emergency Response, Mitra Adhimukti, said that the fires have been reported across several districts, including the district of Rangsang, Merbau and Tebing Tinggi. "The hot weather and gusty conditions have made it easier for the fire to spread," Mitra said on Monday, March 14, 2016.
According to Mitra, a joint-squad consisting of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) personnels - aided by volunteers - have been deployed to fight the spreading flames, but officials on the ground said that their progress is hampered by the absence of water sources at the location of the fires, as well as the squad's rudimentary and outdated equipments. "We are concerned that the fires may well spread into populated areas," said Mitra.
The Head of Meranti's Agency for Agriculture and Forestry, Mahmud Murod, said that the high incidence of fires in Meranti - aside from the fact that the area is dotted by peatlands, some reaching deep below the top soil - might be an indication that the fires were deliberately set by irresponsible parties, wishing to clear out forested areas to be repurposed for agricultural purposes. Furthermore, continued Murod, the majority of reports originate from fields and orchards belonging to local residents. "We have yet to receive any reports of fires breaking out in fields and forests that are owned by large corporations," Murod said.
Murod also said that peat fires will continue to happen in Meranti, as long as the government continues to move at a glacial pace to reform its' management of Meranti's peatlands. "There are currently 480 illegal irrigation canals built over Meranti's peatlands - all of these drain freshwater from the fields into the sea, which further dries out the area that is already prone to fires to begin with," Murod said.
"The central government needs to step in, as Riau's Administration does not have the means to deal with these illegally-dug canals," continued Murod, who said that Riau's Administration have proposed to seal off the canals to the Ministry of Environments and Forestry, but have yet to receive any response from Jakarta.
In recent months, continued Murod, the central government have indeed moved to aid the restoration of the area's peatlands through the Peatland Restoration Agency, which was forced by President Joko Widodo - but the Agency have yet to come up with a concrete action plan to deal with the situation in Meranti.
"All we want to do is to seal of the canals and ditches to ensure our peatlands remain moist, and to prevent it from drying out," said Murod. "We have to attack the root causes of the fires, instead of mitigating the aftermath of the disaster after it has happened - it is a waste of energy."
RIYAN NOFITRA
