Antara News·Indonesia·Monday, October 26, 2026 at 06:56 AM UTC

Minister calls for stronger funding support to address forest fires

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Benardy Ferdiansyah, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said funding for forest and land fire mitigation must be promptly put into action to accelerate firefighting operations and reduce their impact on communities.

"Public safety is the top priority. I ask regional heads to immediately optimize this assistance to strengthen firefighting efforts, protect residents from the impacts of haze, and meet the needs of personnel in the field," he conveyed in a statement on Monday.

Previously, the government disbursed another presidential aid package for forest and land fire mitigation worth Rp480 billion (US$26,82 million) to 44 districts/cities in seven provinces.

With this additional aid, the total aid disbursed in two installments reached Rp1.24 trillion (US$68,42 million), following the Rp760 billion (US$41,9 million) provided on September 7, 2026.

The aid is intended to strengthen firefighting operations, protect communities from the impacts of haze, meet the needs of personnel in the field, and support the restoration of burned peatland ecosystems.

The Minister of Home Affairs also issued Circular Letter No. 300.2.8/8481/SJ dated October 23, 2026, as an operational guideline governing the budgeting, use, monitoring, and reporting of central government assistance and financial assistance from other regional governments for forest and land fire management.

The circular states that the funds can support ground firefighting and peatland water injection, including fuel, logistics, field operations, and the deployment of response teams.

The assistance can also cover evacuation posts, logistics distribution, community evacuations, health alerts, free treatment for haze-related acute respiratory infections (ARI), and wildlife rescue.

Equipment support includes personal protective equipment, water pumps, hand pumps, water tanks, hoses, drilling wells, tactical firefighting vehicles, trail bikes, and excavator rentals.

The assistance can also cover medical needs, masks, vitamins and medicines, portable oxygen, firefighting incentives, logistical support for Fire Awareness Communities (MPA) and volunteers, and the restoration of burned peat ecosystems.

In the second distribution, Central Kalimantan received Rp110 billion (US$6 million) for nine regions; South Sumatra with Rp100 billion (US$5,5 million) for ten regions; South Kalimantan Rp80 billion (US$4,4 million) for seven regions; and Riau with Rp70 billion (US$3,8 million) for seven regions.

West Kalimantan and Jambi each received Rp40 billion (US$2,2 million) for four regions, while East Kalimantan received Rp40 billion (US$2,2 million) for three regions.

Previously, the first aid package of Rp760 billion (US$41,9 million) was distributed to seven provincial governments and 35 district/city governments.

The circular states that regions under an emergency response can use contingency funds, while those whose emergency response has ended or have not declared one must allocate the aid through relevant regional agencies and programs.

This ensures that forest and land fire management can continue through the appropriate funding mechanisms.

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