Balikpapan, E Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Fires have razed up to 200 hectares of land in the Samboja Lestari forest in East Kalimantan.
"We are yet to calculate the material losses inflicted by this disaster," Nico Hermanu, spokesman for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), said on Friday.
Since September 23, part of the Samboja Lestari forest area, 50 kilometers north of Balikpapan, has been gutted by fires, which has destroyed bushes and 15-year-old trees.
Meanwhile, BOSF had set up a facility, measuring 1,852 hectares, near the forest to rehabilitate and introduce 209 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and 47 honey bears (Helarcto malayanus) to the wild.
"We are worried that the haze might result in our staff members and orangutans falling ill," Nico said.
The prolonged drought could also easily trigger additional forest fires, he added.
A number of military personnel, a team from the Kutai Kartanegara disaster mitigation office and another team from Total Indonesie have been deployed to extinguish the fires.
"On Friday morning, we were assisted by a Manggala Agni team from the Forestry Ministry," Nico noted.
Between August 31 and September 1, some 30 hectares of Samboja Lestari area was gutted by the fires.
"Fortunately, no staff member and orangutans have become victims of the forest fires so far," he remarked. (*)
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Kalimantan Timur 2015
"We are yet to calculate the material losses inflicted by this disaster," Nico Hermanu, spokesman for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), said on Friday.
Since September 23, part of the Samboja Lestari forest area, 50 kilometers north of Balikpapan, has been gutted by fires, which has destroyed bushes and 15-year-old trees.
Meanwhile, BOSF had set up a facility, measuring 1,852 hectares, near the forest to rehabilitate and introduce 209 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and 47 honey bears (Helarcto malayanus) to the wild.
"We are worried that the haze might result in our staff members and orangutans falling ill," Nico said.
The prolonged drought could also easily trigger additional forest fires, he added.
A number of military personnel, a team from the Kutai Kartanegara disaster mitigation office and another team from Total Indonesie have been deployed to extinguish the fires.
"On Friday morning, we were assisted by a Manggala Agni team from the Forestry Ministry," Nico noted.
Between August 31 and September 1, some 30 hectares of Samboja Lestari area was gutted by the fires.
"Fortunately, no staff member and orangutans have become victims of the forest fires so far," he remarked. (*)
Editor : Didik Kusbiantoro
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Kalimantan Timur 2015