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Forest fires expand to 13,000 hectares in West Kalimantan, risk of triggering haze: BPBD

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Tempo - September 15, 2024

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's West Kalimantan Provincial Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) revealed that from January 1 to August 30, 2024, land and forest fires have burned an area of 13,057.7 hectares in 13 districts/cities. The head of the West Kalimantan BPBD Information Task Force, Daniel, said the fires occurred in various types of land, such as peat, mineral soil, forest, and non-forest.

"These fires have the potential to worsen environmental conditions and increase the threat of haze in the region," Daniel was quoted as saying by Antara on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

The land and forest fires occurred almost evenly in 13 districts/cities in West Kalimantan. Sambas Regency is the most widely affected area, with an estimated burned area of 1,984.52 hectares. The next most extensive burned areas are in Sanggau District, covering 1,865.29 hectares; Kubu Raya, 1,701.65 hectares; Ketapang, 1,582.70 hectares; Kapuas Hulu, 1,176.48 hectares; and Landak, 1,124.03 hectares.

Other districts with land and forest fire areas of less than a thousand hectares are Bengkayang 826.90 hectares; Sintang 799.02 hectares; Melawi 757.20 hectares; North Kayong 547.58 hectares; Mempawah 534.27 hectares; Sekadau 127.85 hectares; and Singkawang City 30.18 hectares. "Meanwhile, Pontianak City is still free from land fires," Daniel said.

Observing the wide scale of fires, the West Kalimantan BPBD encourages local governments in 13 districts/cities to be more vigilant about the potential for forest and land fires. Ground patrols in fire-prone areas, Daniel said, need to be intensified to prevent the spread of fires.

According to Daniel, landowners must also play a role in protecting and supervising their areas. So far, he said, most of the land that has caught fire is "idle land" that is used by the surrounding community to grow crops. "Due to a lack of supervision, land fires are easy to occur," Daniel said. "We encourage landowners to be more responsible. Don't just buy land, but don't take care of it."

The West Kalimantan BPBD also hopes that local governments will immediately strengthen disaster mitigation to minimize the impact of haze caused by forest and land fires. BPBDs in each district/city, for example, need to take immediate disaster mitigation steps. "So that the potential for haze due to land and forest fires can be minimized as quickly as possible, so that the burned land does not spread further," said Daniel.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1916416/forest-fires-expand-to-13000-hectares-in-west-kalimantan-risk-of-triggering-haze-bpb

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