Budget Of IDR 10 Billion Prepared By Musi Banyuasin Regency Government Handling Forest And Land Fires 2023

Illustration of forest fires (ANTARA)

PALEMBANG - The Musi Banyuasin Regency Government in South Sumatra Province allocated Rp10 billion in the 2023 Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget for the implementation of forest and land fires mitigation (karhutla) in its area. "The budget is not only for preparation, but rather to back up all efforts to prevent and handle in the field during the dry season this year. Our commitment is to Muba free of forest and land fires in 2023," said Acting Regent Musi Banyuasin (Muba) Apriyadi, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, May 26. He said that more than 150 personnel have also been alerted to tackle forest and land fires in vulnerable areas. "Personnel from BPBD, TNI-Polri, Manggala Agni, have been alerted with complete equipment. So far, it can still be overcome," he said. There are two of the 15 sub-district areas in Musi Banyuasin that received special attention from the local government, namely Bayung Lencir and Babat Supat sub-districts. The two sub-district areas have a wide peatland so that they are prone to land fires during the dry season. Meanwhile, the Head of the South Sumatra Province Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Iriansyah said that so far most fires have occurred in abandoned areas and unproductive lands. "Responding to the results of the monitoring, then the supervision of abandoned land is certainly a priority, in particular peatland," said Iriansyah. According to him, the hotspots for forest and land fires were observed among others in the Musi Rawas, North Musi Rawass, and Musi Banyuasin districts.

He said that the number of hot spots could increase during the hot weather. Therefore, the South Sulawesi Provincial Government is ready to implement weather modification technology (TMC) to tackle forest and land fires. In addition, according to Iriansyah, 8,518 personnel including BPBD officers, members of the TNI and Polri, officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Fire Concerned Community, and members of the company's fostered team were alerted to prevent and tackle forest and land fires in vulnerable areas in 17 districts and cities in South Sumatra.