Enviro News Asia, Jambi — Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni inspected forest and land fire (karhutla) control efforts in Tanjung Jabung Timur, Jambi, as part of the government’s efforts to strengthen integrated prevention, monitoring and firefighting operations at the local level.
The visit began with a coordination meeting at the Jambi Manggala Agni Operations Area, where Raja Juli emphasized the importance of rapid response and close coordination among agencies in dealing with forest and land fires.
“Every hotspot must be responded to and handled immediately. The key is speed, preparedness and collaboration. Manggala Agni does not work alone, but together with local governments, the military, police, BPBD, communities, businesses and all relevant parties,” Raja Juli said.
Following the coordination meeting, the minister traveled by road to Pandan Sejahtera Village in Tanjung Jabung Timur to inspect a fire-affected area directly. The journey to the command post and firefighting location continued by motorcycle due to field conditions.
At the site, Raja Juli observed firefighting operations carried out by personnel and local residents. He also met with Suwarno, a member of the local Fire Care Community (MPA), who has been actively involved in efforts to control forest and land fires in the area.
The involvement of MPA members highlights the important role of communities in early detection and response. Located close to vulnerable areas and familiar with local conditions, community members can help identify fires at an early stage and support firefighting teams before fires spread further.
“I want to see directly the conditions faced by our colleagues in the field. They are working under difficult circumstances. I also thank the community members who have joined the officers. Forest and land fire control must be a collective effort,” Raja Juli said.
The minister stressed that karhutla management should not focus solely on extinguishing fires. Prevention through patrols, hotspot monitoring, community preparedness and coordination between central and local authorities must also be continuously strengthened.
Raja Juli said the involvement of community members such as Suwarno and other MPA personnel was particularly important because early prevention and response would be more effective when communities living around vulnerable areas actively participated in protecting their surroundings.
“The most important thing is to prevent the fire from growing. The faster information is received and the faster officers respond, the greater our opportunity to control the fire before it spreads. Let us protect these forests and lands together,” he said.
The minister’s working visit to Jambi is part of the Ministry of Forestry’s efforts to ensure that forest and land fire control is implemented consistently down to the site level. The approach involves strengthening collaboration among Manggala Agni, the central government, local governments, the Indonesian Military, the National Police, BPBD, Fire Care Communities, businesses and other community groups.
The integrated approach is intended not only to improve firefighting capacity but also to strengthen prevention and early response, reducing the risk of fires developing into larger disasters that could threaten forests, land and surrounding communities. (*)
