The number of hotspots in Sumatra is increasing as the weather grows hotter and more arid. Apart from its firefighting efforts, the government has also increased anticipatory measures for forest and peatland fires to prevent haze from disrupting the upcoming Asian Games.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The number of hotspots in Sumatra is increasing as the weather grows hotter and more arid. Apart from its firefighting efforts, the government has also increased anticipatory measures for forest and peatland fires to prevent haze from disrupting the upcoming Asian Games, which will be co-hosted by Palembang in South Sumatra.
The Asian Games in Palembang will take place during the peak of the dry season in August-September, when forests and peatlands are especially prone to fires. Even though this year’s dry season is expected to see more rainfall than in 2015, the number of hotspots has been increasing across Sumatra and Kalimantan, including in South Sumatra, Jambi, Riau, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said that everyone should be on alert because of the rising number of hotspots. “Preventive measures [against forest and peatland fires] are needed,” Siti said when inspecting a forest firefighting operation in West Kalimantan on Monday (23/7/2018). Since January, wildfires have burned 422.04 hectares of West Kalimantan forest and peatlands, and fires covering only 113.07 hectares have been extinguished.
Hotspots in South Sumatra have also increased from 52 in June to 122 in July. On Monday, 20 hotspots were discovered in Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir, Muara Enim, Musi Rawas and Ogan Komering Ulu.
South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said that forest and peatland fires were inevitable, as the extremely hot weather increased the risk of fire. “Peatlands are extremely prone to catching fire, as the weather is extremely hot this dry season. Only a small friction can trigger fires,” he said.
Therefore, he said, the provincial administration would launch efforts to prevent haze disasters. He said he was optimistic that such disasters were preventable. The South Sumatra forest and peatland fire mitigation team was highly skilled in firefighting, with many personnel experienced in fighting fires since 2015. The 10 helicopters provided by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) have been helpful in extinguishing fires unreachable by land.
Police-military efforts
In Jakarta, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said that the TNI and the National Police would join hands in mitigating haze from forest and peatland fires in South Sumatra in order to prevent haze from disrupting the Asian Games. “The National Police chief and I will come up with a haze mitigation strategy so this disaster will not drag on,” he said.
Hadi and National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian will head to Palembang on Aug. 3-4 for a coordination meeting to determine the best steps in preventing haze.
Separately, BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that the agency would deploy 21 helicopters for patrols and water bombing to reinforce forest and peatland fire prevention efforts in Sumatra. The helicopters will help tackle forest fires in South Sumatra, Riau, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
The BNPB will also work together with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) to implement weather modification or manmade rain technology to prevent forest fires. “This is to increase rainfall and engineer the weather to prevent haze from forest and peatland fires from reaching the Asian Games venues,” said Sutopo.