Enviro News Asia, Jakarta – Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH), Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, is prioritizing efforts to prevent forest and land fires in Kalimantan.
These prevention and preparedness efforts are crucial, as Kalimantan—often referred to as the “lungs of the world”—plays a vital role in maintaining global climate stability, yet the region is also home to various highly flammable land types.
To enhance preparedness, Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq held a meeting in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan on Friday (July 4, 2025) with stakeholders including local governments, private sector representatives, and community members.
The agenda began with Minister Hanif leading a Field Coordination Meeting on Fire Prevention Preparedness together with the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI). The meeting also marked the inauguration of the Kalimantan Environmental Control Center (Pusdal) headquarters.
“As of July 2, 2025, only 1,060 out of 2,590 companies we contacted have reported their fire preparedness plans,” Minister Hanif revealed in an official statement.
He praised GAPKI’s commitment—representing over 300 companies in Kalimantan—in strengthening early detection systems, preparing fire suppression equipment, and enhancing the capacity of emergency response personnel.
Although there has been a 59% decrease in hotspots compared to the same period in 2024, as of July 1, 2025, data still recorded 382 hotspots and 498 forest and land fire incidents across various provinces, including East Kalimantan.
In response, Minister Hanif urged local government leaders to verify the readiness of infrastructure, human resources, and funding of business initiators.
“Administrative sanctions in the form of government coercion will be applied to those who fail to meet the standards, and criminal penalties will follow if these administrative obligations are still not fulfilled,” stressed Minister Hanif.
He also outlined five main causes of land fires: land clearing for agriculture and plantations, tenure conflicts, idle land, absentee landowners, and illegal activities or fire spread from neighboring areas.
The risks are even greater on peatlands during the dry season, worsened by ongoing burning practices under the guise of local traditions.
“Data from 2015 to 2024 shows that 79 plantation companies’ land-use concession areas (HGUs) experienced fires, with a total burned area of approximately 42,476 hectares.
This indicates that many business actors, particularly in the palm oil sector, have not made maximum efforts to prevent forest and land fires,” explained Minister Hanif.
To close the series of events, Minister Hanif laid the cornerstone for the construction of the Kalimantan Pusdal Office.
This facility is designed to serve as a regional coordination and strategic decision-making center for addressing environmental issues in Kalimantan, and to support the acceleration of development in the new capital city, Nusantara (IKN).
“This office is highly significant, especially given our presence in IKN. It will ensure that the development taking place there—led by our national leaders—is environmentally sustainable and complies with all environmental governance standards we must collectively uphold,” said Minister Hanif.
The Ministry of Environment (KLH/BPLH) continues to reinforce its commitment to environmental sustainability in Indonesia, particularly through cross-sector collaboration and the enhancement of environmental control infrastructure in ecologically vulnerable regions like Kalimantan. (*)
