President Prabowo Calls for Reinforcements for Forest Fire Management

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi delivers a press statement after accompanying President Prabowo at a forest fire management coordination meeting in Central Kalimantan province, Saturday (08/22).

President Prabowo Subianto has called for reinforcements to extinguish forest and land fires that hit multiple provinces across the island of Kalimantan.

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi made the statement after accompanying President Prabowo at a forest fire management coordination meeting at Forward Command Post for Forest and Land Fire Management in Central Kalimantan province located within the Tjilik Riwut Airport, Palangka Raya, Saturday (08/22).

The Minister stated that the President visited Kalimantan, particularly the provinces of West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, to directly monitor the management of forest and land fires amid extremely dry weather due to El Niño.

“Today the President decided to visit Kalimantan, precisely West Kalimantan this morning, and he just continued to [visit] Central Kalimantan, Palangka Raya city, for further coordination. He intends to directly monitor the management of forest and land fires, which occur at the same time as the extreme or dry El Niño this year,” he said.

According to the Minister, the provinces of West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, and North Kalimantan suffer significant impacts of the forest and land fires.

The Minister stated that during the coordination meetings in West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, the Head of State received reports on the development of forest and land fire management and discussed unmet needs with relevant officials.

“The President made several decisions immediately, including to provide additional equipment, including helicopters for waterbombing, water pumps, and pumps for boreholes, as well as additional personnel,” he said.

The Minister further pointed out that land operations are supported by additional vehicles for firefighting, adding that the President has ordered provincial governments and relevant institutions to ensure that affected communities receive proper care.

“He expressed appreciation to those who have worked hard day and night to extinguish fires, including the Indonesian National Defense Forces, Indonesian National Police, National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), and Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG). Many volunteers and Manggala Agni (national organization for forest and land fire management) of the Ministry of Forestry are also involved. He expressed his most sincere appreciation and respect to all who have worked hard to fight the fires,” he said.

The Minister also stated that President Prabowo underscored the importance of preventing new fires and ordered his administration to continue disseminating information to society, down to the grassroots, about the dangers of activities that may cause fires, especially in very dry weather.

“He ordered us to continuously educate our people down to the grassroots, to avoid activities that may cause fires, especially in a situation like this. It can be very dangerous because the fires may grow larger and cause damage to us all,” he said. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (DH/LW)