27 Hotspot In Tabalong

by Rusmanadi

Tanjung , South Kalimantan ( Antaranews ) - The head of sub-administration Technical Implementation Unit of 

Protected Forest Management Tabalong Forest Agency, Zainal Abidin, said on Tuesday that number of hotspots here continues to grow and has reached 27 hotspots.

From Satellite Imagery Data "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA )," the distribution of 

hotspots in Tabalong from February to September 2013 include Subdistrict Murung Pudak, Bintang Ara, Muara Uya, Jaro, Haruai, Upau, Tanta, and Kelua.

"The high number of hotspot occurred in September that  13 spots dominated in the northern region of Tabalong," said Zainal in Tanjung.

Most hotspots are found in Muara Uya, Haruai and Bintang Ara respectively by 5 hotspots.

The addition of hotspots in Tabalong besides triggered by droughts and forest fires, it also caused by the activity of shifting cultivation and clearing land by burning.

NOAA detection results as many as 10 hotspots found either in the production forest or protection forest scattered in Bintang Ara, Muara Uya, Haruai and Jaro. The remaining spots are found outside the forest areas such as plantation areas, fields and underbrush .

With a land area on Tabalong reached 230 thousand hectares of forest area which includes the function of protected forest, production forest and forest conservation, forest protection task is quite heavy because of the lack of forest police personnel (Polhut) in the Forest Agency.

Currently the number of forest police personnel in jungle (UPT Balai Pengelolaan Hutan Lindung) only 5 people with the means of one patrol car.