We have mapped the locations (of hotspots). We will take legal action if there is any criminal activity indicated.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry on Monday informed that it has sent 96 warning letters on hotspot findings so far and urged companies to take immediate measures to prevent and combat forest and land fires.

"Since January until now, we have issued 96 warning letters to corporations or (land) concessionaires on the indications of hotspots in their (business) locations," Director General of Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement at the ministry Rasio Ridho Sani said here.

Sani informed that his side has continued to monitor hotspots in forests and plantations across Indonesia.

If hotspots with a confidence level of 80 percent are indicated, the ministry issues a warning letter to prevent the hotspots from spreading.

According to him, the 96 warning letters issued so far were mostly addressed to corporations on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan as there are many companies that manage land concessions and plantations in the two regions.

"We will take firm actions if we find (people) intentionally burning forests and land," he said.

Furthermore, his side has continued to strengthen law enforcement by forming a special team drawn from the National Police and the Attorney General's Office to carry out integrated law enforcement related to cases of forest and land fires.

The ministry has also held a coordination meeting with civil servant investigators (PPNS), the police, and prosecutors working in Sumatra and Kalimantan to strengthen law enforcement in the region.

"We have mapped the locations (of hotspots). We will take legal action if there is any criminal activity indicated," Sani said.

Based on hotspot distribution data captured by satellites and provided on the ministry's SiPongi+ website, there are currently 124 hotspots with high confidence levels and 892 hotspots with medium confidence levels.

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Translator: Sugiharto P, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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