POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has laid out the key priorities for engaging with other government entities to evacuate local communities and assist with the rapid provision and disbursement of logistics needed by these communities during the emergency response period for dealing with the floods that have hit major parts of South Kalimantan province in Indonesian Borneo.
"In the early days of the widespread flooding, I mobilized our ministry team in local offices across Kalimantan to help evacuate people and provide and distribute the logistics required by communities," Minister Nurbaya explained in a virtual update on the ministry's flood response management efforts (Jan 18).
"The ministry's fire-fighting brigade Manggala Agni also forms part of the team that I mobilized to be deployed on the ground to help evacuate and distribute logistics," she added.
Minister Nurbaya also shared some photos of the ministry's ongoing logistics support and distribution efforts in response to the flooding in 11 regencies/cities in South Kalimantan.
Technical update
Minister Nurbaya pointed out that the location of the massive flooding was in the Barito watershed, which covers an area of around 6.2 million hectares, more than 85 times the size of Singapore. Of this area, around 1.8 million hectares, or 29%, lie within South Kalimantan province.
"Approximately 60.7% of the Barito watershed in South Kalimantan consists of non-state forest areas (APL). The authority for these areas lies with local governments and their patterns of utilization refer to spatial plans at the South Kalimantan provincial level as well as with its regencies/cities,” she said.
"The decrease in natural forest area in the Barito watershed during the 1990-2019 period was around 62.8%, with the largest decline, of 55.5%, occurring from 1990 to 2000," she added.
Mining operations
While there are some mining operations in the Barito watershed, Minister Nurbaya emphasized that 80% of the mining permit areas from the ministry in South Kalimantan were granted by previous administrations, before President Joko Widodo took office at the end of October 2014.
"In terms of the mining permit areas, 80% were issued by previous administrations. The remaining 20%, apart from a few new permits, are also significantly made up of permit extensions given by previous administrations," she elaborated.
As reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in early September last year, Minister Nurbaya announced that 50 leading mining companies had started and continued to conduct post-mining recovery programs, including PT Adaro which operates in South Kalimantan.
Reaffirming urgent priorities
Minister Nurbaya repeatedly stressed that the handling of the emergency flood response, under the direction of President Joko Widodo, must be prioritized.
The following photos show the ongoing efforts of the ministry's team on the ground, part of the government's synergy with local governments in dealing with the flood emergency in South Kalimantan.
Minister Nurbaya also explained that her ministry's spatial team is reviewing the provincial spatial plan - especially the pattern and structure of this spatial plan - because more than 60% of the portion of the Barito watershed in South Kalimantan is composed of non-state forest areas (APL).
Furthermore, a review of the level of utilizations in the Barito watershed, 71% of which lies in three other provinces with a major part in Central Kalimantan, will also be conducted in detail.
"To date, the confirmed causes of the flooding in South Kalimantan, apart from extreme rainfall, have yet to be technically determined," Minister Nurbaya said in conclusion.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has laid out the key priorities for engaging with other government entities to evacuate local communities and assist with the rapid provision and disbursement of logistics needed by these communities during the emergency response period for dealing with the floods that have hit major parts of South Kalimantan province in Indonesian Borneo.
"In the early days of the widespread flooding, I mobilized our ministry team in local offices across Kalimantan to help evacuate people and provide and distribute the logistics required by communities," Minister Nurbaya explained in a virtual update on the ministry's flood response management efforts (Jan 18).
"The ministry's fire-fighting brigade Manggala Agni also forms part of the team that I mobilized to be deployed on the ground to help evacuate and distribute logistics," she added.
Minister Nurbaya also shared some photos of the ministry's ongoing logistics support and distribution efforts in response to the flooding in 11 regencies/cities in South Kalimantan.
Technical update
Minister Nurbaya pointed out that the location of the massive flooding was in the Barito watershed, which covers an area of around 6.2 million hectares, more than 85 times the size of Singapore. Of this area, around 1.8 million hectares, or 29%, lie within South Kalimantan province.
"Approximately 60.7% of the Barito watershed in South Kalimantan consists of non-state forest areas (APL). The authority for these areas lies with local governments and their patterns of utilization refer to spatial plans at the South Kalimantan provincial level as well as with its regencies/cities,” she said.
"The decrease in natural forest area in the Barito watershed during the 1990-2019 period was around 62.8%, with the largest decline, of 55.5%, occurring from 1990 to 2000," she added.
Mining operations
While there are some mining operations in the Barito watershed, Minister Nurbaya emphasized that 80% of the mining permit areas from the ministry in South Kalimantan were granted by previous administrations, before President Joko Widodo took office at the end of October 2014.
"In terms of the mining permit areas, 80% were issued by previous administrations. The remaining 20%, apart from a few new permits, are also significantly made up of permit extensions given by previous administrations," she elaborated.
As reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in early September last year, Minister Nurbaya announced that 50 leading mining companies had started and continued to conduct post-mining recovery programs, including PT Adaro which operates in South Kalimantan.
Reaffirming urgent priorities
Minister Nurbaya repeatedly stressed that the handling of the emergency flood response, under the direction of President Joko Widodo, must be prioritized.
The following photos show the ongoing efforts of the ministry's team on the ground, part of the government's synergy with local governments in dealing with the flood emergency in South Kalimantan.
Minister Nurbaya also explained that her ministry's spatial team is reviewing the provincial spatial plan - especially the pattern and structure of this spatial plan - because more than 60% of the portion of the Barito watershed in South Kalimantan is composed of non-state forest areas (APL).
Furthermore, a review of the level of utilizations in the Barito watershed, 71% of which lies in three other provinces with a major part in Central Kalimantan, will also be conducted in detail.
"To date, the confirmed causes of the flooding in South Kalimantan, apart from extreme rainfall, have yet to be technically determined," Minister Nurbaya said in conclusion.
RELATED STORIES
