Makassar (ANTARA) \u2013 Indonesia\u2019s National Disaster Management Agency\n(BNPB) has discussed an offer of operational assistance and technology\ncooperation from the Malaysian Government to support efforts to tackle\nforest and land fires.<\/p>\n
BNPB acting head of its Data, Information and Disaster Communications\nCentre, Berton SP Panjaitan, said in a statement in Makassar, South\nSulawesi, on Tuesday that the proposed support would be assessed further\nto ensure it matched operational needs and conditions on the ground. He\nwas referring to a meeting between BNPB head Kristomei Sianturi and\nMalaysia\u2019s Ambassador to Indonesia, Muzafar Shah Mustafa.<\/p>\n
At the meeting, held at the Graha BNPB building in Jakarta on\nTuesday, Malaysia reportedly offered one CL-415MP amphibious aircraft,\none Mi-171 helicopter and 44 personnel, including crew and\ntechnicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe offer forms part of efforts by the two countries to explore\nsupport that could assist operations to tackle forest and land fires in\nIndonesia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In addition to operational assistance, BNPB and the Malaysian\nGovernment are exploring technology cooperation covering monitoring and\nearly detection, data collection and analysis, assessments of affected\nareas, firefighting strategies, research and innovation, technical\ncoordination, and human resource development.<\/p>\n
BNPB will next coordinate technically with Malaysia\u2019s National\nDisaster Management Agency (NADMA), facilitated by the Ministry of\nForeign Affairs, to discuss the suitability of the assistance,\ndeployment readiness, logistical requirements, flight safety procedures\nand alternative support if thick haze and poor visibility limit the\neffectiveness of aerial operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll forms of international assistance will be tailored to disaster\nresponse needs and applicable regulations, while operational control\nwill remain with the Government of Indonesia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Berton said forest and land fire response is currently being carried\nout through an integrated approach involving ground firefighting, aerial\nwater-bombing operations by helicopter and weather-modification\noperations, under the technical coordination of BNPB and the\nMeteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).<\/p>\n
BNPB\u2019s Directorate of Operations Control reported that, as of 25\nOctober, the Indonesian Government had deployed 71,878 personnel in\nground firefighting task forces and 63 aircraft. The aerial fleet\ncomprised 39 water-bombing helicopters and 24 patrol and\nweather-modification aircraft.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bnpb-discusses-malaysian-support-for-forest-and-land-fire-response-1793109274", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }