Loss Caused by Wildfire Reaches Hundreds of Trillions: BRG

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy of planning and cooperation of Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), Budi Wardhana, said that wildfire in the peatland caused huge economic losses. Based on the World Bank data, the massive land and forest fire in 2015 caused state loss up to Rp2.5 trillion.

The number did not include the adverse effects for body health, the termination of the production process, trade and transportation activity, as well as the declining value of natural resources in the affected region. In total, the loss might sharply raise to Rp221 trillion.

So far, the public is still allowed to use the land burning method to open two hectares of land at maximum. However, there was a lack of monitoring that led to the fires.

“The government can seek alternate methods of land-clearing, such as using microbes,” said Budi in Kuningan, South Jakarta, Tuesday, August 13.

According to Budi, land burning should be the last option for the public to open lands for production purposes as it might lead to a wildfire.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) as of August 13 at 09:00 a.m. recorded 863 hotspots across Indonesian regions. The highest number of hotspots spotted in West Kalimantan Province (391), followed by Riau (230), Central Kalimantan (180), and Jambi (28).

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