Central Java acts on forest fires

Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific
The Governor of Central Java, Mr. Ganjar Pranowo, receives a Making Cities Resilient campaign certificate from UNISDR Programme Officer Ms. Hang Thi Thanh Pham (Photo: BNPB)

The Governor of Central Java, Mr. Ganjar Pranowo, receives a Making Cities Resilient campaign certificate from UNISDR Programme Officer Ms. Hang Thi Thanh Pham (Photo: BNPB)

WONOGIRI, Indonesia, 3 December 2015 –Thirty-five cities and districts in one of the world’s most disaster-exposed countries, Indonesia, have come together to declare their commitment to reduce disaster risk following months of devastating forest fires which have released huge quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

As global leaders meet in Paris for the COP21 climate change summit, the enterprising Governor of Central Java, Mr. Ganjar Pranowo, organized a mass signing-up to UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign.

The collective commitment of a province, with a combined population of 33 million people, provides a significant boost to global efforts to reduce disaster and climate risk.

“My provincial working group monitors the haze resulting from forest fire and severe drought on a daily basis. We realize how much more we need to do to better prepare,” Governor Pranowo told 200 city mayors, district heads, local officials and community representatives at the signing event.

“That is why we are joining the Making Cities Resilient Campaign to protect our communities and development results and overcome climate change.”

The Governor has been on the road continually over recent months to talk with communities, schools and local governments on how to manage various hazards. Central Java, the third most populous province in Indonesia, has been hit by drought and forest fire this year partly fueled by El Niño, in addition to regular hazards such as floods, landslides, volcanic eruption and earthquake.

Forest fires, resulting mainly from illegal slash and burn practices, have caused haze and air pollution that have affected several countries in Southeast Asia this year. The hazard reoccurs to varying degrees during each dry season but has been particularly bad this year because of El Niño. Government officials have warned that the fires could return early next year.

The Indonesian health ministry reported that from July to the end of October, hospitals in the worst-affected parts of the country treated 556,945 cases of people with smoke-related respiratory tract problems. This is nearly three times the normal rate. Health resilience is an important part of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency recorded 21 fire-related fatalities, including burns, pneumonia, asthma and meningitis aggravated by upper respiratory tract infections. Nearly 20,000 schools had to close in the worst-hit provinces, affecting about 2.4 million students. The fires also likely killed many endangered or threatened species, including orangutans and Sumatran rhinos.

Such fires affect carbon storage, support to biodiversity, water sources, rates of soil erosion and land degradation, and climate regulation in tropical ecosystems. Because these hazards are largely human-induced, they represent an opportunity for disaster risk reduction practices to yield impressive results in terms of reduced losses.

According to a study conducted by the Centre for International Forestry Research, severe fires that burned over 9.7 million ha of Indonesia in 1997/98 also occurred in an El Niño year. It concluded that much of the impact of fires could have been avoided if appropriate fire management systems were in place and policies relating to fire and land use were appropriate to deal with the situation.

Then as now, much of the haze was caused by burning peat which not only generates 17 times more smoke than forests, but as a fossil fuel contributed over 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide in harmful emissions over an eight-month period. A similar study has yet to be carried out on the latest forest fires.

The Government of Indonesia actively encourages local governments to engage in disaster risk reduction. In 2012, Indonesia hosted the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction, the theme of which was building local capacity.

“The Sendai Framework and Sustainable Development Goal 11 on safe and resilient cities provide us with a great opportunity to work with local governments to address urban risk – an area that is of critical importance for Indonesia but was not easy during the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015),” said Mr. Bernadus Wisnu Widjaja, Deputy Chief of the Indonesia National Authority for Disaster Management (BNPB).

“Our National Movement for ‘Resilient Indonesia’ that was launched on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in October, also here in Central Java, emphasizes resilient cities”, Mr. Widjaja added.

The BNBP has trained more than 100 cities and districts in disaster-prone provinces on the Local Government Self-Assessment Tool (LG-SAT), developed by the Making Cities Resilient Campaign to measure progress in disaster risk reduction as the basis for planning future actions.

The LG-SAT is being aligned with the targets and priorities for action of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction – the global blueprint to reduce disaster risk and losses over the next 15 years – so that it supports implementation and monitoring at the local levels.

“We must act on our commitment,” Governor Pranowo said. The Governor called for review of plans, particularly those related to land use, to ensure that disaster risk reduction concerns are taken into account.

A substantial increase by 2020 in the number of countries with local disaster risk reduction strategies and plans that are informed by risk is one of the seven targets of the Sendai Framework.

The following municipalities signed up to the campaign: Banjamegara Regency; Banyumas Regency; Cilacap Regency; Purbalingga Regency; Magelang City; Kebumen Regency; Magelang Regency; Purworejo Regency; Temanggung Regency; Wonosobo Regency; Surakarta City; Boyolali Regency; Karanganyar Regency; Klaten Regency; Sragen Regency; Sukoharjo Regency; Wonogiri Regency; Pekalongan City; Salatiga City; Semarang City; Tegal City; Batang Regency; Blora Regency; Brebes Regency; Demak Regency; Grobogan Regency; Jepara Regency; Kendal Regency; Kudus Regency; Pati Regency; Pekalongan Regency; Pemalang Regency; Rembang Regency; Semarang Regency; and Tegal Regency.

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