Prabowo orders coordinated measures against Indonesia wildfires

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has called for coordinated measures to address forest and land fires as drought and the El Nino phenomenon heighten wildfire risks across the country, said a government spokesperson on Monday (Aug 10).

“As instructed by Mr President last night, we have coordinated the deployment of equipment for water bombing, including helicopters and aircraft to help extinguish wildfires,” State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said, as quoted by news agency Antara. 

The government has also mobilised a multi-agency task force to contain fires that have spread across about 107,000 hectares, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago separately said at a press conference on Monday. The area is nearly one-and-a-half times the size of Singapore.

Authorities are stepping up both aerial and ground operations as they seek to prevent transboundary haze from affecting neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, Djamari added. 

Prasetyo said a significant number of hotspots remained in West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, while fires at East Java’s Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park were among the largest the authorities were tackling. 

AFP reported that dozens of Indonesian schools were shuttered for a second day on Tuesday to protect against the spreading haze.

The mayor of Pontianak city in Borneo ordered schools closed due to the smoke wafting over from fires elsewhere.

Public records show there are tens of thousands of public school pupils in the city, which is in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province.

Children will learn from home for as long as the air quality remains poor, mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono said in a statement on Monday, without stating how many schools were affected.

"We have started to feel it, especially at night and in the morning, as haze has already blanketed the city of Pontianak," he said. 

In East Java, authorities have extinguished a fire that burnt 550 hectares around Mount Bromo but new hotspots have emerged near the caldera, covering some 20 hectares, the head of the local disaster mitigation agency said on Monday. 

Prasetyo assured the public that firefighting efforts would continue with the involvement of the Forestry Ministry, the East Java provincial government, the military and the police, Antara reported. 

Prasetyo said the Indonesian government is making every effort to extinguish and prevent the fires from spreading to other areas.

The government has also ordered the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to prepare weather modification operations. 

BMKG had said intensified impacts from El Nino during the dry season have heightened risks of drought and wildfires in multiple regions nationwide. 

Djamari said on Monday the government had deployed 43 helicopters and prepared over 10 aircraft used for water-bombing operations to tackle wildfires.

“We are working as hard as possible to avoid disturbing other parties, including neighbouring countries close to us,” Djamari said. 

As of Monday, Indonesia had not received any official complaints or reports from its neighbours regarding haze pollution coming from Indonesia, he said. 

Beyond aerial support, ground operations include fighting the fires using flexible tanks as temporary water reservoirs to ensure a steady water supply in difficult terrain. 

Weather modification technology is also being prepared to boost rainfall over impacted zones currently concentrated across six high-risk provinces - Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.

Indonesian authorities identified these regions as primary targets due to their extensive peatlands, which become highly flammable during the dry season and can burn underground for extended periods. 

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, haze conditions have worsened in Sarawak with 11 areas recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of Tuesday morning, local media reported. 

Serian town recorded an API of 189, according to the Department of Environment’s Air Pollutant Index Management System, nearing the "very unhealthy" level, Harian Metro reported. 

Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg has urged Sarawakians to take precautions against current hazy conditions in the state, while his deputy premier Sim Kui Hian said all outdoor activities would be stopped once the API hits the “very unhealthy” level of 200 and above. 

In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Sunday that dry conditions are expected to continue in the coming week which could increase the risk of haze if fires in the region persist.