President Prabowo Subianto Reviews Forest and Land Fire Response in Kalimantan and Sumatra

President Prabowo Subianto Wednesday (09/23) held a limited meeting on disaster response via video conference from the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

The meeting discussed the latest developments in forest and land fires in several areas of the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra.

“This afternoon, the President wants to receive the latest report from Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) on developments in forest and land fires in Kalimantan, especially in West and Central Kalimantan, as well as across Kalimantan as a whole and Sumatra,” Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said at the beginning of the meeting.

Head of the BNPB Suharyanto then reported on developments in the response efforts in Sumatra and Kalimantan. As of Wednesday afternoon, teams on the ground were still working to extinguish fires across 209.78 hectares of land.

“We would like to report that, as of today, fires are still being extinguished on 209.78 hectares of land. We monitor the situation daily so that we can continue to increase the areas where fires have been put out,” he said.

The Government continues to intensify efforts to address forest and land fires, including through large-scale weather modification operations. The BNPB Head also said that the operations would continue at least until the next rainy season returns to normal.

During the meeting, President Prabowo Subianto was accompanied by Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, while Head of the BNPB Suharyanto and Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Head Teuku Faisal Fathani reported the latest developments via video conference from their respective locations. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (FI/MEP)