Banjarmasin, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - The South Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) is strengthening strategy to handle the potential of forest and land fires (karhutla) in order to improve regional disaster management capabilities in 2025.
BPBD together with the joint team of TNI (military), Polri (police), Forestry Office, Manggala Agni (forest and land fire control brigade), the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Environment have studied the pattern of forest and land fires from year to year.
"We learn the pattern of fires from previous year and conducted various mitigation efforts as well as emergency handling," said Head of the BPBD Prevention and Preparedness Bambang Dedi Mulyadi when confirmed here on Tuesday.
Bambang expounded that increasing disaster management capabilities is in line with with the Governor's vision and mission which places capabilities for climate change as one of the development priorities by taking effective steps implmented in 2024.
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One of the strategic steps taken was using the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) data to anticipate extreme weather by preparing thorough regulation.
"South Kalimantan BPBD has proposed a provision of water bombing helicopters to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and has been wetting the land early, especially in vulnerable areas around the airport," saidBambang.
The results of handling of forest and land fires in 2024, Bambang recalled, no flights were delayed due to smoke from peatland fires, different from the previoys year.
The succes of this strategy, he said, becomes a reference to strengthen the strategy of forest and land fire disaster management in South Kalimantan in the future.
Currently, the South Kalimantan BPBD is working to complete the Governor's Regulation concerning Disaster Management which will be a legal umbrella for all related parties in handling disasters more synergistically and comprehensively.
"With these various steps, we hope the Province of South Kalimantan will be more resilient in facing the threat of forest and land fires and other disasters in the future," said Bambang.
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