Indonesia: Number of hot spots down in first half of 2019

Kharishar Kahfi The Jakarta Post 27 Jun 19;

The Environment and Forestry Ministry has reported a drop in the number of hot spots across the country during this year’s first half from the equivalent period last year.

According to observation using the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite, 508 hot spots were detected in forest areas in Indonesia between Jan. 1 and June 25, marking a 25 percent drop from 685 detected in the same period of 2018.

The ministry’s acting director for forest and land fire control, Raffles Brotestes Panjaitan, said authorities had joined forces to launch initiatives to prevent forest and land fires from spreading.

“For example, the ministry has been conducting joint patrols with military and police personnel as well as volunteers in fire-prone regions across Kalimantan and Sumatra since March,” Raffles said.

Apart from the patrols, he added, the Manggala Agni forest fire team had devised a mechanism to dispatch teams to every location of hot spots detected by satellite.

On Tuesday, joint teams extinguished forest and land fires in several locations, including a peatland area in Palem Raya village in Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra. In West Nusa Tenggara, another team put out a fire engulfing a vast area of savanna in the Mount Rinjani National Park from Sunday to Monday.

Raffles said firefighters and other authorities were bracing for more possible hot spots in forest areas due to a weak El Nino occurring between June and November.

C Kalimantan deploys 750 personnel to prevent forest fires
Antara 27 Jun 19;

The personnel not only wait for land and forest fires but also move from one area to another and conduct patrols to prevent land and forest fires that may happen any time,
Palangka Raya, C Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Palangka Raya, C Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Central Kalimantan province is deploying a task force consisting of 750 personnel to prevent land and forest fires in the region during this dry season.

"The personnel not only wait for land and forest fires but also move from one area to another and conduct patrols to prevent land and forest fires that may happen any time," Commander of the Land and Forest Fire Task Force Colonel Am Saiful Rizal who is also commander of the Panju Panjang Military Resort 102 said in Palangka Raya on Thursday.

The task force comprises personnel from the Regional Disaster Mitigation Board (BPBD), the National Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian Police (Polri) and self-supporting fire department.

Since Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran declared a state of emergency over land and forest fires in the province, the task force has performed its duties in accordance with its main tasks and responsibilities, he said

"Several hot spots have been found in a number of areas such as South Barito, West Kotawaringin, and Kapuas Districts as well as in Palangka Raya City," he said.

However, the task force, which acted quickly, managed to prevent the fires, he said adding that the main cause of land and forest fires is the natural factor and human behavior.

The task force also conducts campaigns in the community about the risks of land and forest fires as well as efforts to prevent and combat them.

Reporter: Kasriadi/Adi Wibowo, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution