Prabowo Sends Additional Equipment to Tackle Forest and Land Fires
President Prabowo Subianto has decided to send additional equipment to strengthen the handling of forest and land fires (karhutla) in several affected regions of Sumatra. The move was taken after the Head of State directly inspected conditions in Riau and South Sumatra and participated in coordination meetings with other regions.
“The President emphasised several points. First, regarding what is needed to handle what remains, although the number is small, at around 199 hectares, additional equipment is also being sent by the President,” said Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi to reporters on Monday (24/8).
According to Prasetyo, Prabowo’s visit to Sumatra was a continuation of the review of forest and land fire handling in West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan on Saturday (22/8). After arriving in Pekanbaru, Riau, Prabowo then continued his journey to Palembang, South Sumatra.
From the two locations, Prabowo also participated in coordination meetings continued via Zoom with the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) of Jambi and Lampung. Prasetyo said that in general, the forest and land fire situation in the four provinces of Sumatra monitored by the government is relatively under control.
“For Sumatra Island, in the four provinces it is relatively under control. Some have reported no more hotspots, but smoke continues to emerge because there are peatlands, and it was also reported that there is coal in the areas, especially in Sumatra,” he said.
Although the situation is considered to be improving, the government remains vigilant over several areas that are still emitting smoke. The characteristics of peatlands and the presence of coal are among the factors causing smoke to still appear even though hotspots have decreased.
Prasetyo said Prabowo’s attention was not only directed at extinguishing fires, but also at the readiness of additional forces should conditions on the ground require them. In the meeting, the Head of State called on the TNI Commander and the National Police Chief to strengthen personnel and equipment, including water bombing helicopters.
In addition, there was also a request for support in the form of modified trail motorcycles to assist mobility in handling forest and land fires in difficult-to-reach terrain.
On the other hand, Prabowo expressed appreciation for the preventive measures taken by local government officials in Riau and South Sumatra. According to Prasetyo, these efforts included educating the public as well as working together with business actors and plantation owners.
“Earlier there were two coordination meetings, the last one also connected via Zoom meeting with the Forkopimda of Jambi and Lampung,” said Prasetyo.
He explained that prevention efforts have been carried out since the beginning of the year given that the El Nino phenomenon is expected to be quite strong. Local governments together with communities and business actors are encouraged to anticipate various activities that could potentially trigger forest or land fires.
Prasetyo said the gotong royong (mutual cooperation) approach was one of the things appreciated by the President in handling forest and land fires in Sumatra. These efforts were carried out by involving various elements since before fires occurred, not only when hotspots had already appeared.
Regarding the absence of the Minister of Forestry in the series of meetings and Prabowo’s visit this time, Prasetyo confirmed that it was not due to any particular issue. He explained that the Minister of Forestry had previously gone to the field several times, including conducting reviews in several affected areas.
“It happened to be because the Minister of Forestry has visited the field several times, and also in South Sumatra the Minister of Environment had also visited, so this is just a coincidence,” he explained.