BNPB steps up efforts to fight forest and land fires in East Kalimantan

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JAKARTA (ANTARA) – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is working hard to deal with forest and land fires (karhutla) in East Kalimantan to prevent them from spreading and affecting the environment and socio-economic activities of the communities.

“This includes us creating favorable conditions for the development of Nusantara, the new capital of East Kalimantan (IKN),” BNPB head Suharianto said in a statement issued by his office on Saturday.

According to the inventory data from January to July 2024 by the Kajutla Task Force in East Kalimantan, there are 9,148 hotspots in the region.

According to the task force, most of the hotspots are located in East Kutai and Kutai Katanegara regions. If not properly handled, the hotspots have the potential to spread to other areas during strong winds during the dry season.

“The local government has considered this issue. They asked for the area’s problems to be dealt with as a priority,” Suharianto said.

He immediately responded to the request by sending four helicopters to patrol East Kalimantan and conduct aerial water bombing.

“We are ready to add more helicopters if the forest and land fire situation in East Kalimantan escalates,” he said.

BNPB also provided supporting logistics and infrastructure for handling forest and land fires through the allocation of BNPB Ready-to-Use Fund (DSP) to the East Kalimantan Provincial Government, including 40 water pumps (including 30 main pumps and 10 portable pumps), 5 water tanks and 20 sets of personal protection equipment for firefighters.

Suharianto praised the East Kalimantan provincial government for its quick action in establishing a state of emergency alert for forest and land fires until November 2024 so that the central government could immediately provide assistance to the region.

The program has been implemented in six other provinces that focus on controlling forest and land fires, namely South Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.

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