JAKARTA: Indonesia will establish a National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency (BPGMN) to strengthen efforts to prevent recurring forest and land fires, particularly in peatland areas.
In a statement, the Presidential Secretariat’s Press, Media and Information Bureau (BPMI) said President Prabowo Subianto made the decision after meeting academics and experts at the Merdeka Palace on Thursday to discuss peatland management and the risk of forest and land fires.
"We agree that we need this agency. It must exist -- the National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency. It will not be under a ministry but directly under the President,” Prabowo said, according to the statement.
Prabowo had also instructed the Indonesian National Armed Forces to deploy 1,000 personnel to regencies to educate local communities on fire prevention, with National Police personnel potentially joining the effort.
On enforcement, he also stressed that the government would continue investigating companies suspected of deliberately starting fires, while regulations would be reviewed to strengthen prevention efforts.
At the corporate level, he said existing regulations required companies to provide fire prevention facilities, including observation towers, water reservoirs and firefighting teams comprising their own employees.
"There are companies that comply and there are companies that do not. We must put this in order,” he said, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto said Indonesia has more than 33 million hectares of peatland, making coordinated management crucial to optimise its use and strengthen fire prevention.- Bernama
