A coordination meeting for early warning and prevention of forest and land fires in the Production Forest Management Unit Berau Barat (KPHP Berau Barat) was conducted on 19 April 2016. The meeting was organized by the KPHP Berau Barat itself, the Berau District Forestry Service and in collaboration with GIZ FORCLIME. The multi-stakeholder coordination meeting involved the following actors: KPHP Berau Barat, the Berau District Forestry Service, the Meteorology and Climate Agency of Berau (BMKG), the Berau Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the Agricultural and Plantation Service of Berau District, local NGOs, and forest concession holders (IUPHHK HA) within the area of KPHP Berau Barat.

According to the Head of the Berau Forestry Service, Suhandri Sabran, the purpose of this meeting was to communicate and coordinate, as well as to explore synergies in land and forest fire management, including information sharing among programmes and activities of all stakeholders with regard to fire control. Moreover, representatives from BMKG explained that in late 2015 Berau District was heavily effected by smoke from land and forest fires that disrupted both the health of Berau citizens and transport in the district. Based on rainfall data and dry season forecasts for July-August-September, the threat of forest fires still continues to exisit in 2016. In this context, a representative from BPBD Berau also announced the district’s Task Force on Land and Forest Fire that was established following Presidential Decree No. 11 2015.

Outcomes from the discussion include the agreement to continue coordination and involvement of all parties, dissemination of information on forest and land fires to communities, improvement of facilities for land and forest fires management, financial support for the planned activities, as well as the development of standard operating procedures for forest fire management.

For further information, please contact:
Alfan Subekti, Strategic Area Manager FMU development, Samarinda
Suprianto, Technical Advisor for FMU development, Berau
Budi Susanto, Technical Adviser for GIS, Berau