Forest fires have been reported Riau and West Kalimantan spreading fast over the past week.
Jokowi said it is predicted that forest and bush fires were more devastating in August and September, therefore, action must not be delayed to put an end to fire when they are still easier to control.
He said there were fewer dots of fires compared with in the same period last year .
"But I want to draw your attention, that there are 217 dots of fire all over the country potential to cause big problem ," the president said at limited cabinet meeting here on Friday.
He said the fires already broke out in Riau and South Sumatra and North Sumatra although attempts had been made from the air and over land by fire fighters to isolate and put out the fires.
Attempts from the air is made with water bombs dropped from helicopters while overland firefighters sprayed water.
He said artificially made rain could also be produced when the sky was still wrapped with clouds.
He said law enforcement must also be effective imposing administrative or criminal sanctions against perpetrators to meet sense of justice.
He reminded relevant agencies that no more license for exploitation of peat lands, and evaluation has to be made to ensure that restoration of damaged peat lands is effective.
On Thursday the South Jakarta District court a punished a sago starch producer PT Nasional Sago Prima (NSP) for fire in its concession land last year destroying peat land.
The court decided in favor of the Forestry and Environment Ministry, which filed the lawsuit against the company.
Director General Law Enforcement of the Ministry Rasio Ridho Sani described the court verdict as historical.
"This is a historical decision against injustice on the environment and human rights," Rasio said.
It was rare that big corporation lost cases in forest fires that have extensively devastated the countrys tropical forests over the past year .(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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