Forestry Minister urges vigilance against forest fires amid strong El Niño forecast
The government is encouraging all relevant parties to increase vigilance and anticipatory measures against the impacts of forest and land fires (karhutla).
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said the government is strengthening anticipation of forest and land fires this year, following a report from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) which forecasts that the El Niño phenomenon from August to October will be very strong.
“The government is encouraging all relevant parties to increase vigilance and anticipatory measures against the impacts of forest and land fires,” said Minister Raja Antoni in his statement in Jakarta on Monday.
He said this year’s El Niño conditions need to be taken seriously by all parties. According to him, BMKG estimates that the strength of this year’s El Niño resembles the conditions in 2015, when Indonesia experienced large-scale forest and land fires.
“We really must be vigilant about forest and land fires this year. BMKG reports that August to October will see a very strong El Niño. It is often called the Godzilla El Niño, although this is not a standard term. According to BMKG, the El Niño is likely to be as strong as the 2015 El Niño,” said the minister.
Furthermore, Raja Antoni reminded of the impacts of the 2015 forest and land fires, which not only caused damage to forests and land but also disrupted various community activities.
“As is known, in 2015, 2.6 million hectares of forest and land burned, airports closed. Markets, shopping centres and schools closed. Hospitals were full of people suffering from acute respiratory infections (ISPA),” he said.
Therefore, Minister Raja Antoni urged all parties to anticipate this year’s El Niño so that it does not have the same impact as in 2015.
In addition, he also reminded the public and corporations not to clear land by burning. He stressed that any violation will be dealt with through legal process.
Not only that, Minister Raja Antoni emphasised that fires can start from simple things such as carelessly discarding cigarette butts, so vigilance needs to be exercised together.
“Do not clear land by burning, whether by the public or corporations. Something as simple as discarding a cigarette butt can have fatal consequences. Therefore, I invite all members of the public and business actors to work together to prevent forest and land fires,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government has held a coordination meeting on forest and land fire management involving Forestry Minister Raja Antoni, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago, Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat, and Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General TNI Suharyanto.
The meeting was part of strengthening the government’s preparedness in facing forest and land fires, particularly during the August to October period.