Forest Fires Harmful To Younger Generation: BNPB Chief

Bengkulu, Oct 13 (Antara) - Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsul Maarif has expressed concern that prolonged forest fires could harm the younger generation. The haze has resulted in increased absenteeism in schools and could have an impact on the next generation due to prenatal exposure, he stated here on Monday while opening a Disaster Mitigation Month. The haze has also triggered various diseases including respiratory tract infections, he pointed out. Prolonged haze inhalation could affect the public health. He forecast that the haze condition will persist in several provinces until November 2014. "We, the central government have provided assistance to mitigate the problem, but what is of key importance are the concerned regional authorities who know about the problem better," he affirmed. The most crucial measure to stop forest and plantation fires is stern legal enforcement by the local authorities, he added. "There is no doubt that the fires were set deliberately. Therefore, it is impossible to entirely leave it on us. The locals know about it better. It is not a mere economic problem but a criminal one," he stated. He called on the local authorities to take preventive measures against forest and plantation fires. The agency has deployed three aircraft to deal with the fires in South Sumatra and an additional aircraft for Riau Province. It has planned to deploy another three large-capacity aircraft to conduct cloud seeding operations to create artificial rain in the fire-affected provinces.