Govt of Indonesia Says It Has Managed Forest Fires Well

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry is ensuring that land and forest fires are handled well this year through coordination among stakeholders.

Secretary general of the ministry, Bambang Hendroyono, said on Monday, August 19, 2024, that the government has learned from previous years' experience in handling land and forest fires to reduce the number of burned areas.

According to him, the handling of land and forest fires no longer considers the month period because there has been a shift in the dry and rainy seasons in the country.

This year, the land and forest fire handling is being carried out by considering the seasonal period determined by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The agency has predicted that the peak of the dry season in most parts of Indonesia will occur in July and August 2024, although some areas will still experience rain.

The handling is also taking into account the likely weather phenomena, including El Nino and La Nina, Hendroyono continued.

He assured that cross-sectoral coordination on preventive measures will continue. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, together with other ministries, agencies, and regional governments, will continue to carry out preventive measures, fire extinguishing, and environmental restoration efforts.

"What is the most important is at the grassroots level; the operational (team) in the field must continuously report about the locations of the hotspots and firespots," he said.

According to data from the ministry's land and forest fire monitoring system, SiPongi, in 2024, the total area of land burned reached 105,539 hectares. Meanwhile, in 2023, the burned land area was recorded at 1.16 million hectares.

ANTARA

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