Forest Fire in
Indonesia
A large fire
covering about 4,200 hectares of land had broken out at Tesso Nilo, a precious place
of rainforest in the heart of Riau. As satellite data of the fire hotspots
shows, forest fires have affected the length and breadth of Indonesia. Among
the worst hit areas are southern Kalimantan (Borneo) and western Sumatra. (Salim, 2019)
200 hectares comprising a mix
of acacia plantation and secondary forest areas were burnt. The wildfires that are
now raging in Brazil’s Amazon at a record rate serve as a fresh warning, if not
a lesson, for Indonesia, which along with Brazil possesses the largest
rainforests in the world. The governments of the two countries have come under
criticism for not doing enough to stop deforestation, which results from, among
other factors, forest fires.
Coordinating
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said Wednesday the
government was focusing on efforts to prevent forest and land fires.
Anticipatory measures will include community education in areas near forests,
considering a report from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency that found humans
were responsible for 90 percent of forest fires.
9 AUGUST
The
fire was detected in the afternoon. The government and
sub-district police, along with Tesso Nilo National Park personnel and WWF
staff, worked hard to put out the fire with the available tools and
resources.
10 AUGUST
The
blazing fire continued. Additional support such as compatible masks, oxygen
cans and food supplies were deployed from our Pekanbaru field office.
11 AUGUST
Despite
the team working tirelessly to put out the fire, the dry weather and hot
temperatures allowed it to spread aggressively. Emergency
items like water pumps, water tanks (pictured), masks and 1000-metre hose were
some of the critical things the fire-fighting team needed. 182 hectares of land
were already burnt. But thanks to the solid teamwork and fire-fighting
capabilities, the camp managed to survive the fire unscathed.
12 AUGUST
By the third
day, the fire had reached just 50 metres away from the entrance gate of the FES
camp.
Here is the
link to the footage on Youtube :
The Program Manager of WWF Riau Nurchalis Fadhli, and the Tesso Nilo
National Park Head Halasan Tulus flew off to visit the fire location to oversee
the team in the fire extinguishing operations at the site.
13 AUGUST
The fire was
finally contained in the afternoon thanks to the persistence and collaborative
efforts which include the mahouts, park authorities, local firefighters and WWF
staff. After several intense days, the fire was
finally under control.
14 – 18 AUGUST
Around 400
hectares of the burnt area near the FES camp was entirely extinguished. The
team started patrols in the burnt areas, dousing the land with generous amounts
of water to completely put out the fire.
During the
patrol, they found locals who were building a hut close to the Tapa river. This
was near the burnt area, and precautionary actions were taken immediately to
prevent activities that could potentially trigger new fires.
19 AUGUST
Fire
recurred in several spots again. A joint team including WWF tried to extinguish
the fire. Up to this point, efforts to put out the fire are still ongoing.
20 – 21 AUGUST
A health
examination for the elephants was arranged. Initial plans to send those
involved in the fire-fighting operations to undergo a medical check-up were
postponed to next week as the team needed to focus on putting out the fire.
Though the number of hotspots has been significantly reduced, our work is far
from over.
Stepping up
on intensive monitoring work in the following weeks is critical due to the
extremely dry season and human activities inside and around the national park.
Additionally, Tesso Nilo is currently home to iconic Sumatran wildlife with an
estimated 113 to 180 wild Asian elephants and two Sumatran Tigers.
