Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - Lampung Governor Arinal Djunaidi denies that forest and land fires (Karhutla) in Lampung Province are the largest in Sumatra. Complete data on forest and land fires for 2023 is at the Lampung Provincial Forestry Service.

Arinal said it was not true that forest and land fires in Lampung were the largest in Sumatra. "It is not true that forest and land fires in Lampung Province are the largest in Sumatra. Complete data on forest and land fires is at the Lampung Provincial Forestry Service. "Then contact the Head of the Lampung Forestry Service," said Arinal to Kupastuntas.co, Wednesday (20/9/2023).

Head of the Lampung Province Forestry Service, Yanyan Ruchyansyah, said that the forest and land fires that occurred in Lampung Province in the period January to August 2023 covered an area of 3,547 hectares.

"With this number, Lampung Province is not the area with the largest area of forest and land fires in Sumatra. We have confirmed the data with the UPT Center for Climate Change Control (PPI) Directorate General of PPI. We confirm the data because there are differences in the data. "And the data from PPI and the Lampung Provincial Government are the same," said Yanyan, Wednesday (20/9/2023).

Yanyan said, based on data from the Directorate General of PPI, forest and land fires on the island of Sumatra in the period January to August 2023 totaled 17,092 hectares.

"The largest is South Sumatra Province with an area of 4,083 hectares, and after that Lampung Province with an area of 3,547 hectares," he said.

Yanyan explained, related to the decrease in the number of hotspots but there was an increase in the area of forest fires, this was a comparison from month to month.

"In 2022 until the end of December, the area of forest and land fires will be approximately 5 thousand hectares. Meanwhile, this year until August it will still be 3 thousand hectares. So there is a decrease in the area of forest and land fires," he explained.

According to Yanyan, forest and land fires in Lampung Province are dominated by the Way Kambas National Park (TNWK) in East Lampung Regency.

"Most of the forest and land fires are in the TNWK area, and it's not the forest that's burning. It's the savanna that's burning. So the reed grasslands are often burned because of the actions of poachers," he said.

Yanyan explained that Way Kambas National Park was previously a production forest where logging was one of the activities.

However, after the Forest Concession Rights (HPH) were established, encroachment occurred. This then causes marginal land to become worse.

"After becoming a national park, succession conditions were also hampered due to illegal hunting which used the savanna as a strategic location for hunting using young grass shoots," he explained.

He explained that the succession process was never achieved as long as this activity was still ongoing. Then, TNWK adopted a policy by carrying out community empowerment efforts.

"This empowerment involves inviting the community to participate in the rehabilitation of forest areas and then opening opportunities for utilizing environmental services in the form of natural tourism that connects buffer villages and TNWK," he said.

He hopes that with these efforts new income opportunities will grow for the communities around the WKNP so that they will help preserve Way Kambas and speed up the process of restoring its ecosystem by preventing illegal activities within the WKNP.

"The efforts made by the Lampung Provincial Government to suppress forest and land fires are by asking the regents and mayors to take part in efforts to overcome and prevent forest and land fires," he stressed.

"Indeed, early detection is an important main action. Because once there is a fire it is difficult to extinguish it. Therefore, the role of the community as the spearhead is very important," he continued.

Yanyan explained that his party had prepared 241 forest police, 20 groups of Fire Care Communities (MPI), 600 Forest Police Partner Communities (MMP), 27 NGO disaster volunteer forums, assisted by the TNI/Polri and district/city and provincial BPBDs to prevent forest and land fires.

"We also hope that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry can make KPH functional. Because KPH is on site and has high intensity in the field, it is important to be empowered," he said.

As previously reported, Assistant Deputy 4/V Kamtibmas of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam), Brigadier General Pol Lakoni, said that the number of forest and land fires in Lampung Province continues to decline quite drastically every year. However, Lampung Province is listed as the area with the largest forest and land fires in Sumatra in 2023.

"Based on the results of identifying problems in handling forest and land fires, many regions do not have operational support for emergency extinguishing from BNPB," said Lakoni during a coordination meeting for handling forest and land fires in Lampung in 2023 which took place at the Novotel Hotel, Bandar Lampung, Tuesday (19/9 /2023).

Apart from that, said Lakoni, there are also problems with existing facilities and infrastructure for dealing with forest and land fires which are already in progress.

worn and damaged condition. "Then many companies have not been maximally involved in tackling forest and land fires," he said.

Director of Forest and Land Fire Control at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), Thomas Tandi Bua, added that there were several cases of forest and land fires that occurred in Lampung during the January-August 2023 period.

Among them, on January 6 2023, a forest and land fire occurred in Grid 34E of the Susukan Baru Resort, Way Kanan, precisely at the Way Kambas National Park Hall with an area of approximately 70 hectares of burned land. Then on January 9 2023, forest and land fires occurred again in Grid 14E of the Susukan Baru Resort, Way Kanan, as well as in the Way Kambas National Park of approximately 100 hectares.

"Furthermore, on January 14 2023, at Grid 68C Resort Rantau Jaya, Grid 67, 76, 77C Resort Toto Projo, Way Kambas National Park Hall, the area of burned land was approximately 1,500 hectares," he explained.

Then, on February 10 2023 at the Susukan Baru resort, Way Kambas National Park Hall, another forest and land fire occurred with a land area of 100 hectares.

"Then on February 11 2023 the Rantau Jaya resort and Susukan Baru Resort SPTN 1 Way Kanan Way Kambas National Park Hall burned 200 hectares. And indeed the most forest and land fires that occurred in Lampung were in the WKNP," he explained. He continued, the total area of TNWK land burned was approximately 1,970 hectares.

Thomas explained that outside the TNWK area, forest and land fires also occurred in a number of areas in Lampung Province. Namely in Central Lampung 125.45 hectares, East Lampung 2,752.92 hectares, North Lampung 23.46 hectares, Mesuji 178.00 hectares, Tulang Bawang 224.22 hectares, West Tulangbawang 4.55 hectares and Way Kanan 238.59 hectares.

Thomas appealed, in dealing with the impact of the El Nino phenomenon, all parties must monitor data and information on climate forecasts, weather and fire warning systems from BMKG.

Then monitor hotspots and information on forest and land fire incidents from the field, as well as carry out outreach, outreach, literacy campaigns and education in areas prone to forest and land fires.

"It is also important to install signs and boards warning of the dangers of forest and land fires in strategic locations. As well as increasing monitoring of indications of forest and land fire incidents by carrying out patrols and field checks," he said. (*)

This news was published in the Thursday 21 September 2023 edition of Kupas Tuntas daily newspaper with the title "Governor Denies Forest and Land Fires in Lampung as Widest in Sumatra"