892 Police Alerted To Anticipate Forest And Land Fires In West Kalimantan

Illustration of rain fires (ANTARA)

West Kalimantan Police Chief Inspector General Pol Pipit Rismanto, said his party had alerted 892 personnel to anticipate forest and land fires in West Kalimantan through the Kapuas Karuna Operation phase 2, 2023.

"The operation of Kauna Kapuas is planned to take place for 21 days from June 15, 2023 to July 5, 2023, involving 892 personnel from the West Kalimantan Police," said Pipit, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, June 16.

Pipit emphasized that the problem of forest and land fires needs to be a common concern, to prevent and overcome it. This is because it can have a negative impact on public health and damage to the ecosystem massively so that it affects the economy and also has implications for reducing the credibility of the Government where cross-border smoke can potentially reduce and relax Indonesia's bilateral relations with neighboring countries.

He also revealed that in 2022, forest and land areas burned down to 204,894 hectares, this figure decreased by 42.9 percent or the equivalent of 153,973 hectares, compared to the previous year which was recorded at 358,897 hectares, while the carbon emissions produced by Indonesia in 2022 reached 22,239,120 CO2e but West Kalimantan was ranked highest by donating an emission of approximately 6,913,569 CO2e.

"This causes changes in temperature, climate change and global warming, so to respond, the West Kalimantan Police continue to be committed to continuing to be serious in dealing with Forest and Land Fires in West Kalimantan by prioritizing responsive work principles, partnerships and solution, so that the problem can be resolved properly," he said.

According to predictions from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) that Indonesia will enter the El Nino season, which will occur in the middle of the year. This has an impact on a significant reduction in rainfall and can trigger forest and land fires.

"For now, in West Kalimantan, rainfall will be lower, therefore all must remain alert and alert to anticipate climate change and weather," said Pipit.

He also emphasized that with these data, his party is committed to continuing to contribute to implementing strategic steps in controlling forest and land fires, namely by prevention, prevention, law enforcement and encouraging recovery, one of which is by carrying out the Kapuas-2023 Karuna Development Operation.

"I hope that with this Phase II Operation, all personnel involved can carry out their duties as well as possible, the personnel can establish a harmonious collaboration between the Task Force, Agencies, Manggala Agni and other related parties," he said.

Pipit added, by providing Socialization and Education to the community regarding forest and land fires, especially companies and communities in fire-prone locations, monitoring hot spots, verification, escalation of fires, immediately extinguishing the fire so that fires do not spread and take legal approaches to provide a deterrent effect to the perpetrators.

"Implement, analyze and evaluate regularly with all ranks and report to the leadership for further policies and decisions," he said.