Indonesia temporarily closes nine national parks due to forest fires
Indonesian authorities have temporarily closed nine national parks to hiking due to forest fires and the risk of new outbreaks. This is intended to allow resources to be concentrated on fighting fires in six provinces across the country.
Restrictions in national parks
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said that fires in national parks had placed an additional burden on fire containment operations in the provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. Channel NewsAsia reports.
The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Kerinci Seblat on Sumatra, Mount Ciremai in West Java, Tambora in West Nusa Tenggara, Manusela in the Maluku Islands, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya in West and Central Kalimantan, Mount Gede Pangrango in West Java, and Mount Leuser in northern Sumatra have been temporarily closed. Restrictions were also introduced on certain routes in Lorentz National Park in Papua.
Limited hiking was permitted in designated safe areas in Mount Rinjani National Park on Lombok, Mount Merbabu in Central Java, the Hyang Highland nature reserve in East Java, and Mount Halimun Salak National Park in West Java. The minister did not specify how long the restrictions would remain in force.
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Smoke and air quality
According to Antoni, some of the helicopters for water bombing that were to be deployed in the six priority provinces had to be redirected to national parks. Last week, about 170 tourists stranded in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park because of the fires were rescued. According to the BBC, cited by CNA, a fire in the park earlier in August lasted nearly a week and destroyed about 550 hectares of land.
Widespread fire hotspots were recorded in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre reported moderate to dense transboundary smoke plumes over North, West and Central Kalimantan, as well as Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and parts of the Philippine islands of Palawan and Panay.
As of 11:00 on Tuesday, the air quality index in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, was 851, while in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, it was 675. A reading above 300 is considered hazardous. Indonesia’s Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said last week that more than 5 million people in Borneo and Sumatra had been directly exposed to risks from wildfire smoke. According to him, about 13,500 people were treated for respiratory infections in July and August.
