Indonesia's firefighting efforts hit by fires in national parks

Palembang (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry has temporarily closed access to nine national parks at high risk of forest and land fires, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said in Palembang on Monday.

The measure aims to mitigate fire risks and ensure firefighting resources remain focused on priority areas, following fires in several national parks that required additional firefighting support.

The temporary closures will be formally announced through a ministry circular, with authorities first informing the public as an early notification, Raja said.

The nine parks are Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, particularly the Mount Semeru hiking trail; Kerinci Seblat National Park; Mount Ciremai National Park; Tambora National Park; Manusela National Park; Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park; Mount Gede Pangrango National Park; Mount Leuser National Park; and certain routes in Lorentz National Park.

The ministry has also imposed limited access to several conservation areas, including Mount Rinjani National Park, Mount Merbabu National Park, Hyang Highlands Wildlife Reserve, also known as Mount Argopuro, and Mount Halimun Salak National Park.

“These measures take into account the level of fire risk and the conditions in each area,” Raja said.

He said fires in conservation areas have also affected the government’s strategy for tackling forest and land fires in six priority provinces — Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.

Several water-bombing helicopters initially prioritized for firefighting operations in the six provinces have had to be deployed to national parks affected by fires.

“Some water-bombing helicopters that should have been prioritized for the six provinces experiencing forest and land fires have also had to be deployed to national parks to conduct firefighting,” Raja said.

He said the temporary closures were not intended to restrict public access to conservation areas, but to prioritize visitor safety and support efforts to contain forest and land fires.

Raja cited conditions at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, particularly Mount Semeru, where around 170 hikers were previously trapped in a high-risk situation before being successfully evacuated.

“The closure is not intended to restrict hikers’ wishes, but the risk at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park was very high, resulting in around 170 hikers being trapped, although they were successfully evacuated,” he said.

Firefighting in conservation areas also requires substantial resources and could divert the government’s focus from tackling forest and land fires in the six priority provinces.

“However, firefighting efforts are quite challenging. Once again, they significantly disrupt our focus on the six priority provinces. Therefore, temporary and limited closures have been implemented,” Raja said.

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Translator: Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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