Palembang, July 20, 2024 - South Sumatra Provincial Government through South Sumatra Governor Decree No. 393 dated June 13, 2024 has set the status of emergency alert for haze disaster due to Forest and Land Fires (Karhutla). For this reason, the South Sumatra Provincial Government held an Apple and Simulation of Karhutla at Griya Agung Palembang Courtyard on July 20, 2024, which was led directly by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto. This activity was attended by hundreds of personnel from the TNI, Police, agencies / institutions, and companies in South Sumatra.
PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills (APP Group) and its supply partner companies in the South Sumatra region participated in this event by presenting Fire Fighting Personnel (RPK) and the Rapid Reaction Team (TRC) along with a number of transportation facilities and forest and land fire control equipment, as well as a fire fighting simulation.
“This ceremony is a form of our concern and shows the readiness of all elements in South Sumatra in preventing forest and land fires,” said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto during his remarks who also led the ceremony and simulation. According to Airlangga, forest and land fires cause economic losses, therefore it is necessary to take several urgent steps, including prioritizing prevention efforts, and optimizing management of countermeasures.
APP Group Managing Director Suhendra Wiriadinata, who also attended the event, expressed his support to the South Sumatra Provincial Government in tackling and preventing forest and land fires. “This is our commitment to work together in preventing forest and land fires which is also in line with our Sustainability Roadmap Vision (SRV) 2030,” he said.
In tackling forest and land fires, PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and its supply partner companies implement an Integrated Fire Management (IFM) strategy, which consists of four pillars: Prevention, Preparation, Early Detection, and Rapid Response.
Sujica Lusaka, GM Fire Management of APP Group, explained that the company has maximized and increased the number of fire towers, so that almost all APP Group concessions can be monitored optimally. “For areas that are blank spots or difficult to monitor, drones can reach them,” Sujica said. There are 43 fire towers, and 63 portable mini tower units to improve monitoring.
PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and its supply partners optimize all available resources on land, water and air to support the government's efforts to prevent forest and land fires. “We are confident that with careful preparation and strong collaboration between the private sector, government and the community, we will be able to prevent and control forest and land fires this year,” Sujica added.
Currently, PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and its supply partners, have alerted 741 Fire Brigade (RPK) personnel and 49 Quick Reaction Team (TRC) personnel in the field to ensure readiness in handling forest and land fires.
On this day, PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills' Bell 412 helicopter was alerted at Griya Agung. This helicopter is usually used for air patrols by trained TRCs, so that fires can be extinguished immediately and do not spread. If needed, these helicopters can also carry out water bombing. In total, three helicopters are on standby in South Sumatra to support this operation.
For water patrols, PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and its supply partners have Airboat amphibious vehicles capable of operating in wetlands. In addition, the company also uses a Situation Room (Sitroom) to monitor hotspot data from satellites in real-time for 24 hours. The central sitroom is located at the fire base which is connected to each district's sitroom.
“With careful preparation and cooperation with various parties, we are optimistic that forest and land fire control can run effectively,” said Sujica.
