West Kotawaringin Regency Government Strengthens Forest and Land Fire Prevention Measures
Palangka Raya (ANTARA) - The government of West Kotawaringin (Kobar) district, Central Kalimantan, is strengthening anticipatory measures to prevent forest and land fires (karhutla) as the potential for blazes rises at the peak of the dry season.
West Kotawaringin Regent Nurhidayah, speaking in Pangkalan Bun on Friday, said prevention efforts are the regional government’s priority because forest and land fires not only damage the environment but also disrupt public health, economic activity and transport due to smoke haze.
“Handling forest and land fires cannot only be done once a fire has broken out. What is most important is strengthening preventive measures through collaboration among all parties, from the government, the military and police, the business world, to the community,” Nurhidayah said.
She explained that the district government continues to optimise inter-agency coordination through the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Manggala Agni fire brigades, the military, the police, sub-district governments, village governments and community fire-care groups to accelerate early detection and response to potential fires.
In addition, public education is being intensified to discourage land clearing by burning. According to her, raising public awareness is a key factor in reducing the number of fire incidents, especially in areas with peatland.
Nurhidayah also called on all regional officials and territorial authorities to increase preparedness by monitoring fire-prone areas, ensuring firefighting facilities and infrastructure are ready for use, and strengthening integrated patrols throughout the dry season.
According to data from the West Kotawaringin BPBD, from January to July 2026 there were 63 forest and land fire incidents successfully handled, with the burned land area reaching approximately 113.51 hectares. The data underscores the need to strengthen prevention efforts so fires do not spread during the peak dry season.
The regional government assesses that success in controlling forest and land fires is measured not only by the speed of extinguishing efforts, but also by the ability to suppress the number of hotspots through early detection, routine patrols and active community participation in reporting potential fires.
Nurhidayah stressed that all elements of society are expected to help protect the environment by not burning land and by immediately reporting any fire points or activities that could potentially trigger blazes.