Gov’t assigns ministers to handle regional forest fires

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2 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi stated that the central government has appointed several minister-level officials to handle forest and land fires, with responsibilities divided by region.

Hadi noted that various parties have been asked to assist in managing fires across regions in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

“The central government has appointed several minister-level officials to share regional responsibilities. We have divided tasks so that specific attention is given to areas such as West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and so on,” Prasetyo said in Jakarta on Sunday.

The appointed officials include several coordinating ministers and the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army.

He explained that the division of labor aims to accelerate the response to the fires; it does not imply that the minister-level officials are solely responsible for only one specific region.

He stated that the government is making every effort to address the fires as quickly as possible.

Current response efforts are focused on six priority provinces prone to forest and land fires: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.

However, the government does not plan to establish a dedicated task force for these fires yet, as Hadi noted that cross-sector coordination is already robust.

“Field reports indicate that cross-sector coordination regarding the response is already quite strong,” Hadi said.

“Furthermore, any necessary additions—such as equipment, including water-bombing helicopters and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as additional personnel—are already being handled,” he added.

The government had previously stepped up efforts to control and manage forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra by deploying 12,880 personnel for firefighting operations, weather modification operations (OMC), and air quality monitoring.

President Prabowo Subianto also led a meeting on handling forest and land fires in Kalimantan, including coordinating with several Red and White Cabinet ministers in Central Kalimantan on August 22.

Among the directives issued was the provision of additional firefighting equipment and support facilities, including four water-bombing helicopters, 100 water pumps, 2,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE), fire-beating tools, tube wells, and water hoses.