Response to Prabowo's El Niño Measures: House Commission IV Asks BNPB to Map Threats
Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV, Alex Indra Lukman, has responded to President Prabowo Subianto’s directive in a limited meeting requesting government officials to prepare measures to face the dry season and El Niño. Alex has asked the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to coordinate the collection of data on threats and their potential impacts.
“Accurate data will facilitate the preparation of a more comprehensive anticipatory plan. It will also make it easier for the DPR to conduct supervision and evaluation,” Alex said in a statement on Wednesday (29/7/2026).
He assessed that each region has different threat characteristics. Therefore, integrated mapping is required. “The potential problems to be faced in each region will differ from one another according to their respective characteristics. Consequently, BNPB’s ability to orchestrate data collection will result in more accurate, measurable, and targeted anticipatory measures,” Alex explained.
The PDIP politician then cited the example of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan provinces, which frequently experience forest and land fires (karhutla). “Almost every year, karhutla is a recurring event in those seven provinces. The Ministry of Forestry, as the leading sector, must not allow this incident to be treated like we are celebrating a birthday,” Alex stressed.
“The Ministry of Forestry must be able to design anticipatory measures so that the tragedy of last year, the loss of life of Manggala Agni personnel, including TNI and Polri members who were carrying out state duties to extinguish forest and land fires, is not repeated,” he continued.
Alex also highlighted the lack of personal protective equipment for firefighting personnel. According to him, the difficult terrain conditions mean that the protection of officers must be a concern. “It is only proper that we design a more comprehensive plan so that we can close the gap on the emergence of casualties,” he said.
Furthermore, Alex asked the Ministry of Agriculture to encourage local governments to prepare anticipatory measures according to their respective regional characteristics. This is to maintain food security. “Among the expected local wisdom is the effort to maintain water availability and protect the agricultural sector within the framework of maintaining rice self-sufficiency,” stressed Alex, who is also the Chair of the Commission IV Working Committee on Grain and Corn Absorption.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) previously projected that the chance of a very strong El Niño occurring in Indonesia could reach 75 per cent and is expected to last until October 2026. The peak of the dry season is estimated to take place from July to September 2026.