Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung\nAbdurachman said the government had no plans to declare the forest and\nland fires a national disaster. He said the government was still capable\nof handling the emergency.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet, not yet. We are still capable of dealing with it,\u201d Dudung\nsaid when asked whether the fires would be declared a national disaster,\nafter a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace in\nJakarta on Monday (12 October 2026).<\/p>\n
Dudung stressed that the government was continuing to maximise its\nresponse to the fires in several regions. According to a report from the\nHead of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) during the\nmeeting with Prabowo, six provinces were the focus of the response.<\/p>\n
Among those regions, Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra were\nreceiving particular attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother priority in Central Kalimantan is Tanjung Puting, or the\narea around the national park, because it needs to be protected as there\nare animals there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said helicopter operations had been carried out. However, the\nresponse on the ground was currently relying more heavily on land\noperations, as very thick smoke was making aerial firefighting\ndifficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe BNPB chief reported that helicopter operations had been carried\nout, but operations on the ground have been more dominant because it is\ndifficult to reach the area from the air, as the smoke is too thick,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-has-not-declared-forest-and-land-fires-a-national-disaster-citing-response-capacity-1791813193", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }