POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - President Joko Widodo’s administration has clearly demonstrated that action and evidence speak louder than words by proving wrong predictions about a double-disaster in Indonesia this year, in which haze-causing fires take place in parallel with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Evidence sourced from daily satellite and ground-based monitoring by the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry shows that until the middle of this month (Oct 15 at 07:00 Western Indonesia Time), the many predictions about a double-disaster are far from reality.
On the contrary, the trend of declining potential fire spots remains stable at above 90% compared to the same period last year, as previously reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in early and late September 2020.
The level of complication involved in fighting against the global COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession compounded by haze-causing fires is daunting.
As such, a debt of gratitude is owed to the Widodo administration for its substantial achievement in preventing such a situation from occurring this year.
The Widodo administration has, of course, achieved all of this through concrete actions including the testing of permanent solutions, as declared by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya and reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in early July 2020.
This is exemplified in the photos below which portray the ministry's firefighting forces Manggala Agni in action. They continue to work on the ground level to extinguish small-scale fires in Central Kalimantan province.
No headlines on transboundary haze
In addition to the difficult task of preventing haze-causing fires on the domestic front during the ongoing pandemic, the Widodo administration has also managed to avert the double-disaster of transboundary haze impacting neighbouring countries that are also tackling the global pandemic.
The predictions of such a double-disaster may resurface next year from many sources, given that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to linger with the numerous uncertainties this entails.
Considering the success of government-led permanent solutions in dealing with haze-causing fires and ensuring that the predicted double disaster didn’t become a reality, similar efforts are sure to be adopted next year to guarantee the same result.
Minister Nurbaya, in a discussion with FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 2), stated that she always scrutinizes the detailed updates on potential fire spots which are reported to her daily in the early morning and evening, adding that she continues to provide directions, including on checking the potential level of transboundary haze.
The absence of headlines about transboundary haze this year is not because neighbouring countries are too focused on handling COVID-19, but instead because there is indeed no transboundary haze pollution this year.
With the onset of the rainy season in several key provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan in October, the critical time for both domestic haze-causing fires and transboundary haze has largely passed, reinforcing the fact that - thanks to the Widodo administration - the predicted double-disaster remains merely a prediction.
Nonetheless, in a written response to FORESTHINTS.NEWS today (Oct 15), Minister Nurbaya emphasized that she continues to anticipate potential fire spots - albeit on a small scale - in the third and fourth weeks of October, after which the critical time will have passed completely.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - President Joko Widodo’s administration has clearly demonstrated that action and evidence speak louder than words by proving wrong predictions about a double-disaster in Indonesia this year, in which haze-causing fires take place in parallel with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Evidence sourced from daily satellite and ground-based monitoring by the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry shows that until the middle of this month (Oct 15 at 07:00 Western Indonesia Time), the many predictions about a double-disaster are far from reality.
On the contrary, the trend of declining potential fire spots remains stable at above 90% compared to the same period last year, as previously reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in early and late September 2020.
The level of complication involved in fighting against the global COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession compounded by haze-causing fires is daunting.
As such, a debt of gratitude is owed to the Widodo administration for its substantial achievement in preventing such a situation from occurring this year.
The Widodo administration has, of course, achieved all of this through concrete actions including the testing of permanent solutions, as declared by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya and reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in early July 2020.
This is exemplified in the photos below which portray the ministry's firefighting forces Manggala Agni in action. They continue to work on the ground level to extinguish small-scale fires in Central Kalimantan province.
No headlines on transboundary haze
In addition to the difficult task of preventing haze-causing fires on the domestic front during the ongoing pandemic, the Widodo administration has also managed to avert the double-disaster of transboundary haze impacting neighbouring countries that are also tackling the global pandemic.
The predictions of such a double-disaster may resurface next year from many sources, given that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to linger with the numerous uncertainties this entails.
Considering the success of government-led permanent solutions in dealing with haze-causing fires and ensuring that the predicted double disaster didn’t become a reality, similar efforts are sure to be adopted next year to guarantee the same result.
Minister Nurbaya, in a discussion with FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 2), stated that she always scrutinizes the detailed updates on potential fire spots which are reported to her daily in the early morning and evening, adding that she continues to provide directions, including on checking the potential level of transboundary haze.
The absence of headlines about transboundary haze this year is not because neighbouring countries are too focused on handling COVID-19, but instead because there is indeed no transboundary haze pollution this year.
With the onset of the rainy season in several key provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan in October, the critical time for both domestic haze-causing fires and transboundary haze has largely passed, reinforcing the fact that - thanks to the Widodo administration - the predicted double-disaster remains merely a prediction.
Nonetheless, in a written response to FORESTHINTS.NEWS today (Oct 15), Minister Nurbaya emphasized that she continues to anticipate potential fire spots - albeit on a small scale - in the third and fourth weeks of October, after which the critical time will have passed completely.
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