VOA标准英语2013--Indonesian Fires Reveal Unfulfilled Environmental Promises

（单词翻译）

Indonesian Fires Reveal Unfulfilled Environmental Promises

It's an annual occurrence in the dry season: a smoky, hazardous¹ haze² blankets southern Malaysia and Singapore.  This year it was so bad that in some affected³ areas there was a 100 percent rise in the number of asthma⁴ cases. Hundreds of schools were closed, and the government of Malaysia distributed gas masks.

The source of the pollution lies across the Malacca Strait in Indonesia where illegal burning of forests to clear space for palm oil plantations⁵ continues unabated.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered a public apology.

"For what has happened, as president, I apologized and asked for the understanding of brothers in Singapore and Malaysia," he said.

The Indonesian president promised to prosecute⁶ anyone involved in illegal slash-and-burn activities. Eight Southeast Asian companies are reportedly under investigation⁷.

But the ongoing⁸ deforestation seems to contradict past promises. In 2009, President Yudhoyono pledged to reduce by 26 percent greenhouse gas emissions⁹, caused mostly by deforestation. And in 2011, he instituted a moratorium¹⁰ protecting designated forest areas. In exchange, environmentally conscious Norway pledged $1 billion to support these efforts.  

Ariana Alisjahbana at the World Resources Institute says local officials are not supporting the national plan.

“Actually it’s a lack of coordination¹¹ and lack of enforcement. So when we look over all the different rules Indonesia has on the books, theoretically speaking they’re very, very good ones. But they’re just not enforced," said Alisjahbana.

Although the economic incentive¹² to replace forests with farms hampers¹³ conservation, Alisjahbana says long-term progress is being made.   

“Only four percent of the fires, of the fire alerts, happened in protected areas. So I think one of the really good solutions is to actually, you know, designate the area as protected," she said.

But she says a greater commitment to stop the slash-and-burn deforestation through incentives¹⁴ and strict penalties for violations¹⁵ is needed.