JAKARTA \u2014 Responses to forest and land fires must be accompanied by\nprotection for communities affected by haze, including the provision of\nhealthcare, education and social assistance. Coordination between\ncentral and local governments is vital to ensure that firefighting\noperations proceed alongside efforts to meet residents\u2019 needs in\naffected areas.<\/p>\n
Umi Ma\u2019rufah, a forest and plantations campaigner at the Indonesian\nForum for the Environment (Walhi), said tackling forest and land fires\nrequired the involvement of various parties in line with their\nrespective duties and authority. The central and local governments, law\nenforcement agencies and companies holding concessions all have\nresponsibilities in fire prevention and response.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President needs to ensure that ministries and agencies work in\nan integrated way, follow up reports seriously and set measurable\nprevention targets,\u201d Umi said on Saturday (17 October 2026).<\/p>\n
Integrated forest and land fire management is governed by\nPresidential Instruction No.\u00a03\/2020 on Forest and Land Fire Management.\nThe regulation allocates duties to ministries and agencies, the\nIndonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri) and local\ngovernments, including responsibility for protecting communities from\nthe effects of fires.<\/p>\n
Under the instruction, the Health Minister is responsible for\nensuring that healthcare services are provided promptly to people in\naffected areas. The Social Affairs Minister must ensure the provision of\nsocial welfare services to residents facing the effects of fires.<\/p>\n
Community protection also includes maintaining education in affected\nareas. Relevant ministries are tasked with ensuring that teaching and\nlearning continue despite disruption caused by forest and land\nfires.<\/p>\n
In addition to meeting community needs, fire response operations\nrequire personnel, equipment and information about conditions on the\nground. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is responsible\nfor command and coordination, including providing funding support and\nplacing land- and air-based equipment on standby for affected areas.<\/p>\n
The BNPB also works with the TNI, Polri and communities to support\nsocial and economic recovery after a disaster. The TNI and Polri are\ntasked with assisting firefighting operations and patrolling areas\naffected by fires.<\/p>\n
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) provides\ninformation on hotspots, the spread of haze, and weather and seasonal\ndevelopments. It shares this information with relevant ministries and\nthe BNPB to support firefighting operations on the ground.<\/p>\n
At the local level, governors serve as commanders of provincial\nforest and land fire task forces. Regents and mayors lead the response\nin their respective areas and ensure budgetary support through regional\nrevenue and expenditure budgets (APBD).<\/p>\n
Umi said monitoring of fire-prone areas also needed to be carried out\nconsistently, particularly in plantations and company concessions.\nPermit holders must ensure that firefighting facilities and equipment\nare available so that fires can be dealt with swiftly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonitoring should be carried out regularly, especially in\nconcessions with a high level of fire risk or a history of fires,\u201d Umi\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Umi, responsibility for tackling forest and land fires\ncannot be assigned to a single agency. Each party must fulfil its\nobligations to ensure an effective response while reducing the impact on\ncommunities.<\/p>\n
Presidential Instruction No.\u00a03\/2020 also sets out the role of the\nministry responsible for the environment and forestry in conducting\npatrols, monitoring companies\u2019 obligations and enforcing the law against\nviolations. This oversight covers the readiness of prevention and\nfirefighting equipment, as well as land restoration after fires.<\/p>\n
The Agriculture Ministry is responsible for overseeing agricultural\nbusinesses and facilitating the use of land-clearing technology that\ndoes not involve burning. Its oversight also covers businesses\u2019\nobligation to provide firefighting equipment.<\/p>\n
Cross-sector support also includes planning and budgeting for fire\nmanagement by the Finance Ministry and the National Development Planning\nAgency (Bappenas). The ministry responsible for public works and housing\nis also tasked with deploying personnel and equipment to help tackle\nfires.<\/p>\n
With these responsibilities allocated, forest and land fire\nmanagement is not limited to extinguishing flames: it also covers\nhealthcare, continuity of education, social services and community\nrecovery. Cross-sector coordination is crucial to ensuring residents\u2019\nneeds are met throughout the response.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/beyond-firefighting-forest-and-land-fire-response-must-address-affected-residents-1792291825", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }