"Today's coordination meeting is a follow-up action to Presidential Instruction No.3/2020 on the handling of forest/land fire," the acting governor of West Kalimantan, Harisson, said.
Through the coordination meeting, according to him, the province sought to ensure that it has strategic and effective measures in place to prevent forest and land fires, which can damage the environment and people's lives.
Because of the synergy between the West Kalimantan Regional Police, the District Military, and other agencies, the coverage of forest and land fires in the region has reduced from year to year, he said.
He warned that the risk of forest and land fires remains real, as the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that the dry season peak will occur in July and August 2024.
"This can increase the risks of forest/land fire, so we must work hard to reduce the occurrence through effective mitigation steps," he said.
He encouraged coordination among agencies, the police, the military, local governments, and the public in handling forest and land fire risk.
There is also a need for an integrated approach to ensure that the smoke from forest and land fires can be handled quickly and properly, he added.
According to the latest data, forest/land fire coverage in West Kalimantan reached 1,790.51 hectares in the first half of 2024. At least 990 hotspots were detected in the province by the NASA-TERRA/AQUA satellite.
Harisson urged related agencies to prevent the number of hotspots from increasing so that they do not spread and affect people's activities.
Translator: Rendra O, Kenzu
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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