Jakarta (ANTARA) - Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq has urged regional governments to collaborate with companies to prevent and handle land fires."Active collaboration is needed, starting from prevention to post-fire recovery," he said in a statement received here.
During a land fire preparedness meeting in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Saturday, he stressed that real action must start before the dry season arrives.
Nurofiq said that, based on data, 198 potential hotspots have been detected as of May 16, 2025. The figure reflects a decline of 62 percent compared to the previous year. However, the potential for fires remains high, including in West Kalimantan.
National incident data shows that this year, 167 fires were recorded in the period from January to May. In addition, hotspots can reappear when the weather starts to dry.
Therefore, he said, higher vigilance is needed from all parties in the field, including regional governments and business players, as well as the community.
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He emphasized the need to strengthen the commitment of plantation companies, especially those operating in land with cultivation rights (HGU). Data for 2015–2024 shows that 79 areas with HGU permits recorded fires during the period, which affected 42,476 hectares of land in total.
Several locations experienced repeated fires due to lack of thorough handling, reflecting weak prevention efforts by companies. Therefore, the Ministry of Environment has asked companies to actively take preventive measures, and not just move to handle fires once they occur.
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Companies have also been asked to institute an internal emergency response system and support cross-regional firefighting operations. During the meeting on Saturday, Nurofiq also urged companies to maintain a map of vulnerable areas and lay clear mitigation standard operating procedures (SOPs).
"All companies are asked to report the readiness progress to the government," he emphasized.
