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Govt told to drop draft bylaw on forest fire control
Govt told to drop draft bylaw on forest fire control
13/7/07 The Jakarta Post, Jakarta - Greenpeace has urged the central government not to endorse a draft bylaw on the control of forest fires in Riau province, saying articles in the draft could increase slash-and-burn practices in the province.
"If the bylaw is passed, forest burning in Riau will continue to happen. This will damage the environment and release a huge quantity of CO2, which contributes significantly to global warming," Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Hapsoro said Thursday.
He said that the unclear sections, notably article 3 of the draft, might provide a loophole for violations.
"The first section of the article states that everyone is forbidden to carry out any forest burning, while the second section declares that for certain reasons, such measures are allowed after securing approval from the local administration," he said.
"The part of 'certain reasons' that remains unclear, may indicate that local authorities can legalize forest burning," he said.
The draft bylaw has been approved by the Riau Provincial Council and is currently being discussed at the Home Ministry.
Riau, along with Central Kalimantan, is among the provinces most severely affected by deforestation, particularly in the form of forest fires and deforestation.
Fires began to break out with the end of the dry season in June. Satellite images collected by the Forestry Ministry showed 124 fires in Riau last week, more than any other province in the country.
Greenpeace also asked the government to immediately declare a moratorium on the conversion and destruction of peat forests across the archipelago to end the annual massive forest fires, which also badly affect neighboring countries.
"The government should take stricter measures to prevent further environmental damage instead of only pledging to stop forest burning whenever it flares up," Hapsoro said.
"Forest destruction in Indonesia must now be considered as a global problem since our country has contributed a lot to climate change."
Indonesia is the third largest emitter of CO2, releasing around three billion tons of CO2 on average per year from 1997 to 2006, according to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
A recent video shown by Greenpeace also suggested a link between forest burning and the conversion of peat forests by oil palm companies in Riau. The video was taken at the end of last month in Indragiri Hulu regency, south of the Riau province's capital, Pekanbaru.
The area, where the peat forest burning took place, was designated as an oil palm plantation operated by PT Bertuah Aneka Yasa.
Greenpeace criticized a number of oil palm plantation companies for deliberately starting the blaze as part of their land clearing activities and demanded the government and the local administration enforce the law.
"Instead of burning peat forests to open a plantation, the companies can use the 59 million hectares of abandoned land throughout the country," Hapsoro said.
"If the bylaw is passed, forest burning in Riau will continue to happen. This will damage the environment and release a huge quantity of CO2, which contributes significantly to global warming," Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Hapsoro said Thursday.
He said that the unclear sections, notably article 3 of the draft, might provide a loophole for violations.
"The first section of the article states that everyone is forbidden to carry out any forest burning, while the second section declares that for certain reasons, such measures are allowed after securing approval from the local administration," he said.
"The part of 'certain reasons' that remains unclear, may indicate that local authorities can legalize forest burning," he said.
The draft bylaw has been approved by the Riau Provincial Council and is currently being discussed at the Home Ministry.
Riau, along with Central Kalimantan, is among the provinces most severely affected by deforestation, particularly in the form of forest fires and deforestation.
Fires began to break out with the end of the dry season in June. Satellite images collected by the Forestry Ministry showed 124 fires in Riau last week, more than any other province in the country.
Greenpeace also asked the government to immediately declare a moratorium on the conversion and destruction of peat forests across the archipelago to end the annual massive forest fires, which also badly affect neighboring countries.
"The government should take stricter measures to prevent further environmental damage instead of only pledging to stop forest burning whenever it flares up," Hapsoro said.
"Forest destruction in Indonesia must now be considered as a global problem since our country has contributed a lot to climate change."
Indonesia is the third largest emitter of CO2, releasing around three billion tons of CO2 on average per year from 1997 to 2006, according to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
A recent video shown by Greenpeace also suggested a link between forest burning and the conversion of peat forests by oil palm companies in Riau. The video was taken at the end of last month in Indragiri Hulu regency, south of the Riau province's capital, Pekanbaru.
The area, where the peat forest burning took place, was designated as an oil palm plantation operated by PT Bertuah Aneka Yasa.
Greenpeace criticized a number of oil palm plantation companies for deliberately starting the blaze as part of their land clearing activities and demanded the government and the local administration enforce the law.
"Instead of burning peat forests to open a plantation, the companies can use the 59 million hectares of abandoned land throughout the country," Hapsoro said.