Pekanbaru, Riau, Oct 18 (Antarariau.com) - Some 12,541 hotspots caused by peatland and forest fires were detected in Riau Province from January 2 to March 13, 2014, according to the Presidential Working Unit of Development Supervision and Control (UKP4).
"Of the total hotspots, 93.6 percent were in Riau and the rest in border areas," Mas Achmad Santosa of the UKP4 deputy for law enforcement institution program monitoring said here on Saturday.
An audit was carried out recently by a joint team consisting of the forestry ministry, the agricultural ministry, the environmental affairs ministry, and UKP4, and REDD+ Management Agency, to prevent forest, peatland and plantation fires.
Further, Riau acting governor, Arsyadjuliandi Rachman, led a meeting on the audit results here on Friday.
The team recommended several measures be taken to preserve the nations forests, including improving policies on forest management, reviewing forest concessionary management, empowering local people, and supporting fire-free land clearance methods.
12.541 Hotspots Detected in Riau Peatlands
