Environmental Activist Chanee Kalaweit Reveals Forest Fire Management in North Barito

Forest and land fires (karhutla) have reportedly expanded and intensified in the North Barito region of Central Kalimantan. This situation gained widespread attention after being reported by environmental activist Chanee Kalaweit.

According to posts on the @Chaneekalaweit Instagram account on Friday (11/9), Chanee shared footage of active flames in the forest area from (10/9). The post, which showed fire near the Kalaweit area, has garnered over 2.4 million views and 253,000 likes.

In his explanation, Chanee stated that although the fire had previously been brought under control, it has since grown and spread across a distance of almost 1 km. He noted that the situation is now in a state of emergency and requires urgent assistance.

“We need help!” Chanee wrote in the caption of his post.

In his latest story update on the same day, Chanee provided the current situation on the ground. He mentioned that the North Barito fire brigade, alongside the ANUA/Kalaweit team, has been deployed to the location.

Management efforts are being bolstered by the Manggala Agni from the Ministry of Forestry, which has reportedly arrived to conduct field inspections and begin firefighting operations. Teams from the BPBD/BNPB (Regional and National Disaster Management Agencies) are also expected to deploy to support the fire suppression efforts.

“The current situation involves the deployment of the North Barito Fire Brigade along with the ANUA/Kalaweit team. A water tank from PT TOP is on-site,” Chanee wrote.

“Manggala Agni has arrived to check the field and will begin extinguishing the fire tomorrow; the BPBD/BNPB teams will also arrive tomorrow. Firebreaks should begin being constructed using dozers by tomorrow,” he added.

The post also expressed appreciation to the Minister of Forestry, Raja Antoni, for his support in coordinating the field response.

“Thank you to Mr @rajaantoni for helping to coordinate all of this. Hopefully, this fire can be extinguished soon,” Chanee wrote.