East Kalimantan BPBD Implements Pagar Betis Strategy to Anticipate Forest and Land Fires in IKN

Five supporting regions have agreed to assist with firefighting if fires occur in the IKN area, as part of implementing the Pagar Betis strategy. Samarinda (ANTARA) - The East Kalimantan Provincial Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Kaltim) is implementing a layered security strategy called Pagar Betis to anticipate the threat of forest and land fires (karhutla) in the Nusantara Capital (IKN) area. “Five supporting regions have agreed to step in to help with extinguishing fires if they occur in the IKN area as part of implementing the Pagar Betis strategy,” said the Head of BPBD Kaltim, Buyung Budi Purnomo, in Samarinda on Tuesday. The five supporting regions included in this protective line are Balikpapan, North Penajam Paser, Kutai Kartanegara, Paser, and West Kutai. “This agreement is a follow-up from the cross-agency coordination meeting held in the BPBD Kaltim Ops Room last week,” Buyung explained. According to him, this anticipatory step is taken in response to forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) regarding the threat of an extreme dry season. This year’s rainfall pattern, Buyung continued, is predicted to be in the below-normal category, meaning land conditions will be very dry and highly flammable. “The government has mapped Sepaku District and West Samboja District, including the entire Bukit Soeharto Nature Reserve area, as special attention areas most prone to disasters,” he stated. Buyung conveyed that this vulnerability level is triggered by the dominance of dry forest land areas as well as human land-opening activities. To accelerate handling in the field, he added, the government is also maximising the function of the Nusantara Command Centre to monitor fire points via satellite in real time. In addition, the government is preparing an early warning system through text messages sent directly and automatically to residents’ mobile phones in vulnerable areas. “Because the majority of karhutla are triggered by land-opening practices using fire, police apparatus are also increasing patrol and supervision activities,” Buyung said. His side urged all residents of Benua Etam to completely avoid burning rubbish or land activities during this prolonged dry period. “We also ask the public to immediately report to the 112 emergency service if they see smoke plumes or fire points around their residences,” said the Head of BPBD Kaltim, Buyung Budi Purnomo.