BNPB: Foreign Aid to Focus on Procuring Technology for Forest and Land Fires

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said international support initiatives to tackle forest and land fires in Indonesia would focus on procuring advanced equipment and technology that is not yet available in the country.

Berton Panjaitan, head of BNPB’s Data, Information and Disaster Communications Centre, told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday that the government valued and respected offers of assistance from friendly countries, including Japan and Singapore.

“Following the leadership’s direction, the government is currently taking stock of the types of assistance needed to ensure that support from abroad is appropriate and targeted in strengthening forest and land fire response operations,” he said.

He said the policy was being pursued alongside ongoing intensive response efforts in six priority provinces. The burned areas were 5,194 hectares in South Sumatra, 2,025 hectares in Jambi, 7,938 hectares in Central Kalimantan, 1,974 hectares in South Kalimantan and 1,290 hectares in West Kalimantan, while no active fires had been reported in Riau.

Berton said the response in Karanganyar regency, Central Java, covered 490 hectares and faced severe challenges, including fire hotspots reaching Post 2 in Cemoro Kandang, dense haze, unpredictable winds and steep mountain slopes.

Meanwhile, efforts to extinguish fires across 316 hectares on Mount Sumbing were continuing, with a joint team working at the site.

In East Kalimantan and the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) area, ground and aerial operations covered 37 hectares. A five-hectare area in IKN previously tackled through ground and aerial strategies has now been fully extinguished, he said.

“Approximately 70,000 joint personnel have been put on standby to tackle these forest and land fires, supported by aircraft and ground-based water-spraying equipment,” Berton said.