Riau's Biosphere Reserve Badly Damaged

Pekanbaru, Riau (Antara) - Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsul Maarif has said the Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu (GSK-BB) Biosphere Reserve has been severely damaged due to encroachment by illegal loggers. "Don't police know about this encroachment?" Maarif asked here on Thursday after an aerial check by helicopter flying over the biosphere reserve to observe ongoing fires. Maarif, who was accompanied by Deputy Governor of Riau Arsyadjuliandi Rahman, noticed that fires burned an industrial forest, which is a concession of PT Arara Abadi, a subsidiary of Sinar Mas Forestry company. He also saw at least three large hotspots in the biosphere reserve's main and buffer zones. In the main zone, there were signs of encroachment activities, such as small huts and illegally-logged timber. "This is too much and must be dealt with immediately," he said. The biosphere reserve is the priority target in fire extinguishing efforts, using aircraft, including rented Sikorsky planes capable of dropping 4,000 liters of water. Some 180 army officers have also been deployed to help put out fires in the biosphere reserve. "In the future, the biosphere reserve should be guarded tightly by involving army and police personnel who must immediately arrest anybody who tries to encroach and set fires in the area," he said. The Riau Haze Emergency Response Task Force earlier reported that 3,000 hectares of the biosphere reserves were on fire, including 800 hectares in the main zone or protected forest. (*)