POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - One of Indonesia's largest successes in 2020 was how it managed to prevent any haze-causing fires and transboundary haze despite the growing global pandemic, in defiance of the predictions of many parties.
According to Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, there are even some who were disappointed by the absence of haze-causing fires in the country last year amid the ongoing global pandemic, in contrast to the fires that blazed through California and the Amazon.
In fact, she continued, this represents an historical success story under the leadership of President Joko Widodo of which all Indonesians should be proud.
"A few people are disappointed because no haze-causing fires and transboundary haze occurred in 2020, leaving them without any ammunition to discredit the Indonesian government," Minister Nurbaya said during a field visit to check on the development of large-scale permanent natural forest seed nurseries in West Java (Jan 3).
"Their disappointment provides us with positive motivation to continue working hard to ensure that this year we have the same level of achievement as last year," she added.
She reaffirmed that a few people chose not to acknowledge the great success attained by the Indonesian government in preventing haze-causing fires and transboundary haze in 2020 as this did not align with their misguided predictions.
“Some decided to disregard the Indonesian government’s successes as this would have contradicted their confident predictions about a double-disaster in 2020 (haze-causing fires and transboundary haze exacerbated by the global pandemic),” she elaborated.
The photos below depict some of the all-out efforts made on the ground during 2020 by the ministry’s firefighting team Manggala Agni, which worked morning, noon, and night.
Continuing permanent solutions
Minister Nurbaya emphasized that permanent solutions aimed at tackling haze-causing fires this year will continue to be implemented as part of efforts to maintain the national economic recovery in the face of the pandemic.
"While we will continue to adopt permanent solutions, we are not bothered by those who were left upset and speechless by the success of the Indonesian government in thwarting their much-predicted double-disaster," she said.
"We are grateful that Indonesia did not make headlines as a country afflicted by a double-disaster over the past year. As for those that ignored our successes, they actually just ignored all the evidence and truth before them," she asserted.
Minister Nurbaya stressed that the Indonesian government did not feel disadvantaged by the efforts made by those who opted to close their eyes to the successes notched up by the Indonesian government in foiling their dire predictions about a double-disaster.
Actions speak louder than words
Minister Nurbaya pointed out that while many components of the Indonesian government worked hard amid the raging pandemic to dispel any possibility of haze-causing fires and transboundary haze last year, those feeling disappointed by the absence of a double-disaster were mostly able to work from home last year.
“The almost daily narratives from those seeking to corner the Indonesian government increasingly reveal their true missions. These counterproductive narratives do not discourage us at all. Maybe this was done just to please those who were disappointed with the non-occurrence of a double-disaster in Indonesia,” Minister Nurbaya said in conclusion.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - One of Indonesia's largest successes in 2020 was how it managed to prevent any haze-causing fires and transboundary haze despite the growing global pandemic, in defiance of the predictions of many parties.
According to Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, there are even some who were disappointed by the absence of haze-causing fires in the country last year amid the ongoing global pandemic, in contrast to the fires that blazed through California and the Amazon.
In fact, she continued, this represents an historical success story under the leadership of President Joko Widodo of which all Indonesians should be proud.
"A few people are disappointed because no haze-causing fires and transboundary haze occurred in 2020, leaving them without any ammunition to discredit the Indonesian government," Minister Nurbaya said during a field visit to check on the development of large-scale permanent natural forest seed nurseries in West Java (Jan 3).
"Their disappointment provides us with positive motivation to continue working hard to ensure that this year we have the same level of achievement as last year," she added.
She reaffirmed that a few people chose not to acknowledge the great success attained by the Indonesian government in preventing haze-causing fires and transboundary haze in 2020 as this did not align with their misguided predictions.
“Some decided to disregard the Indonesian government’s successes as this would have contradicted their confident predictions about a double-disaster in 2020 (haze-causing fires and transboundary haze exacerbated by the global pandemic),” she elaborated.
The photos below depict some of the all-out efforts made on the ground during 2020 by the ministry’s firefighting team Manggala Agni, which worked morning, noon, and night.
Continuing permanent solutions
Minister Nurbaya emphasized that permanent solutions aimed at tackling haze-causing fires this year will continue to be implemented as part of efforts to maintain the national economic recovery in the face of the pandemic.
"While we will continue to adopt permanent solutions, we are not bothered by those who were left upset and speechless by the success of the Indonesian government in thwarting their much-predicted double-disaster," she said.
"We are grateful that Indonesia did not make headlines as a country afflicted by a double-disaster over the past year. As for those that ignored our successes, they actually just ignored all the evidence and truth before them," she asserted.
Minister Nurbaya stressed that the Indonesian government did not feel disadvantaged by the efforts made by those who opted to close their eyes to the successes notched up by the Indonesian government in foiling their dire predictions about a double-disaster.
Actions speak louder than words
Minister Nurbaya pointed out that while many components of the Indonesian government worked hard amid the raging pandemic to dispel any possibility of haze-causing fires and transboundary haze last year, those feeling disappointed by the absence of a double-disaster were mostly able to work from home last year.
“The almost daily narratives from those seeking to corner the Indonesian government increasingly reveal their true missions. These counterproductive narratives do not discourage us at all. Maybe this was done just to please those who were disappointed with the non-occurrence of a double-disaster in Indonesia,” Minister Nurbaya said in conclusion.
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