BNPB Head: Prevention of Forest and Peat Land Fires Will be Done Structurally
BPNB Head Answering Questions from Reporters After Coordination Meeting on Wednesday
President Joko Jokowi Widodo has instructed the Minister of the Environment and Forestry, Head of the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) as well as related ministers and head of institutions to tackle forest and peat land fires with the right concept.
In the meantime, speaking to reporters after a limited cabinet meeting on the follow-up of the measures to tackle forest and peat land fires at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday (4/11), BNPB Head Willem Rampangilei said that the concept would be materialized as a coordination meeting at the ministerial level to discuss preventive measures to tackle forest and peat land fires.
Willem also ensured that those preventive measures would be implemented structurally, namely by managing peat lands and building canals.
In terms of regulations, were going to review them again. There are many regulations. However, we did not discuss technical issues. We also discussed the budgets, Willem said.
Willem went on to say that his office has already had the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the prevention of forest and peat land fires that was published in September 2014.
According to William, the SOP regulates who does what, who is responsible to who, sanctions, incentives, commands, controlling, coordination of instructions, parameter used to declare state of emergency, early warning system, and others.
Meanwhile, in terms of the regulations on forest and peat land fires that will be reviewed as instructed by the President, Willem said that his office would attempt to make the National Standard Operating Procedures (POSNAS) on the prevention of forest and peat land fires issued as a government regulation.
These preventive measures involve ministries and institutions. POSNAS would not be enough if it were only in the form of a regulation of BNPB Head. This is what we need to discuss to make it a government regulation, Willem concluded. (GUN/DNS/ES) (EP/YM/Naster)
