JAKARTA - INDONESIA may experience more severe forest fires this year because of an extended dry season, officials said on Monday, raising the prospect of choking smoke blowing across neighbouring states.

As well as being unhealthy, the smog can cause major economic disruption costing the tourism, transport and farming sectors billions of dollars.

INDONESIAN data showed the number of hotspots in Sumatra based on satellite surveillance had fallen to 28 as of Sunday from 99 last week after rain. But on Borneo island the number of hot spots rose to 69 from 17 last week. ... more

Spurred on by the 1997-98 fires, South-east Asian countries signed the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, but Indonesia has yet to ratify the pact.

Areas such as Sumatra and Borneo regularly suffer from forest fires, but risks appear to have risen with the return of the El Nino weather pattern this year.

'The dry season (in Riau) will peak at the end of June to July which may increase hotspots and with wind coming from Australia to Asia, the haze could travel to Malaysia and Singapore,' said Mr Blucer Doloksaribu, head of the meteorology agency in Riau's provincial capital of Pekanbaru.

Riau, along with other parts of Sumatra, frequently suffers from forest fires.

Malaysia has already been suffering from haze this year and visibility was cut in the capital Kuala Lumpur last week while air quality in several parts of the country was deemed unhealthy.

Mr Bustar Maitar, forest campaigner for Greenpeace South-east Asia, said the number of fires appeared to be decreasing, but warned an anticipated long dry season could increase the numbers this year.

He also said the risk of forest fires was also being increased by the land clearing practices linked to some plantation firms and pulp-paper firms.

'Burning forests is still the cheapest way for companies to clear land although the government has prohibited it,' he said. -- REUTERS