On Tuesday, BNPB Head Suharyanto underscored the need for this strategy to optimize the existing budget for a single air operation using weather modification aircraft, water bombing helicopters, and patrols.
"One minute of flight can cost up to Rp300 million (US$18 thousand). We have to be careful in choosing flight times and locations," he remarked.
According to Suharyanto, efficiency is achieved by combining weather modification and water bombing operations using helicopters or smaller-capacity aircraft when the number of hotspots is still low.
Meanwhile, a ground firefighting task force team comprising personnel from the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), National Police, the Ministry of Forestry's Manggala Agni, community fire awareness groups (MPA), and teams from companies holding concession permits has been instructed to extinguish small-scale fires immediately before they spread, he remarked.
The agency has readied over 10 aircraft and helicopters to mitigate this year's forest and land fires, including one weather modification aircraft (OMC) stationed in Riau Province, which has logged 139 hours and 17 minutes of flight time since early May.
Suharyanto said his office has also temporarily suspended weather modification operations in Jambi Province after no hotspots were detected there in the past week.
The helicopters have been redeployed to other areas in need, such as South Sumatra and West Kalimantan, to anticipate potential new fires, he noted.
He emphasized that this efficiency strategy does not reduce preparedness, but rather, it ensures continuous operations across all priority areas without excessive budget use.
In addition, the aircraft fleet can be quickly deployed to necessary locations in less than a day, based on weather forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
"We want to be fast, precise, and economical. With this approach, we ensure air operations remain effective while also strengthening ground troops and conducting preventive patrols at the village level," he remarked.
Related news: Six priority provinces' fires are under control: BNPB
Related news: Ministry sealed off, investigated 10 companies following forest fires
Related news: Ministry urges Banjarbaru govt to check forest fire spread
Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
