Forestry Minister requests additional boreholes to tackle water crisis in forest fire prevention

Banjarbaru (ANTARA) - Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has requested additional boreholes to address the water crisis in efforts to tackle forest and land fires (karhutla) in South Kalimantan, particularly ahead of the peak of the dry season in September.

“These boreholes are the main source of water when it becomes difficult to obtain water for firefighting,” he said in Banjarbaru on Sunday.

Raja said that the regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) would take the lead in mapping potential water source points for the construction of these boreholes.

He acknowledged that several boreholes are already being used by personnel for firefighting, such as in the area around Syamsudin Noor International Airport, where the land is prone to burning.

However, as the dry season progresses, there are concerns that the water in the existing boreholes is already running low.

“Because of the extraordinary drought conditions, the existing boreholes have turned out to be too shallow,” he explained.

The Forestry Minister said the El Niño phenomenon needs to be a shared concern during the dry season.

With rainfall declining drastically and daily air temperatures feeling hotter than usual, the risk of drought and forest and land fires can increase.

The Forestry Minister again reminded the public not to clear land by burning, for any reason whatsoever.

“I ask the authorities to take firm action against perpetrators of land burning, arrest them and process them legally so as to create a deterrent effect,” he stressed.