EL NINO MAY WORSEN FOREST FIRES IN RIAU : BMKG

Pekanbaru, Riau July 31 (ANTARA) - The local Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the arrival of El Nino will worsen forest fires in Riau province.

"El Nino can worsen the land and forest fires in Riau province," Marzuki, analyst of the BMKG for Pekanbaru office, said here on Friday.

He said that these weeks forest fires had taken place very often in various districts in Riau province due to the high drought degree and fire raze potential index.
"The fire raze potential index and drought degree have in the last several months reached the extreme level," Marzuki said.

He said that the disadvantageous drought would be worsened further with the arrival of the El Nino phenomenon.

Experts have predicted that El Nino, a climate phenomenon with a significant influence on global weather, ocean conditions and marine fisheries, will begin hitting the Asian region, including Indonesia, later this year and last until 2010.

Indonesia which was severely affected by the climate phenomenon in 1997 has predicted that it will not have an extreme impact on or cause protracted drought this time.

According to Director for Environment Affairs of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Edi Effendi, the temperature in Indonesia will relatively be moderate and there will be no protracted drought.

"If El Nino does happen we basically are now ready to do what is necessary to mitigate it," he said.

The government is preparing reserve funds of Rp1 trillion to Rp2 trillion for efforts to anticipate the impact of El Nino on the country's agriculture in 2010.

According to Acting Economic Affairs Coordinating Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the reserve funds are included in the draft 2010 state budget and aimed at maintaining national food security.

She said that the El Nino climate phenomenon was expected to reach a peak in 2010 when about 80 thousands to 150 thousands hectares of paddy fields would experience a drought.