Indonesia urges neighbours to avoid blame over Kalimantan fires

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34 minutes ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) on Sunday urged neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore to avoid blaming one another over the impact of smoke from forest and land fires in Kalimantan.

Berton Pandjaitan, acting head of the data and information centre at Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), said Indonesia understood concerns over possible transboundary haze and stressed that Indonesia had deployed significant resources to control the fires.

“What we need to convey is that Indonesia is currently making optimal efforts and deploying very substantial resources to control forest and land fires,” he said.

Forest and land fires do not recognise administrative or national borders, he said, adding that countries should work together rather than make unfounded claims about the source of the smoke.

“Our approach is not about blaming one another, but about how each country makes maximum efforts within its own territory while working together to reduce the impact of transboundary haze,” Pandjaitan said.

Indonesia is using ground crews, patrols, aerial firefighting, water bombing, weather modification operations, and law enforcement to tackle the fires, Pandjaitan said.

The government also deployed 52 aircraft for firefighting operations in six priority provinces, with 30 operating in Kalimantan and 22 in Sumatra. It has also increased the deployment of Indonesian Air Force personnel and assets to strengthen firefighting operations in Kalimantan.

“Our focus now is to control fires as close to their source as possible and as quickly as possible, because if the source of the fires can be controlled, we can also reduce smoke production and the potential for cross-border impacts,” he said.

Smoke movement should also be assessed using meteorological data, including wind direction and speed, atmospheric conditions, satellite imagery, and field monitoring, he said.