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Central Papua Forms Task Force to Combat Forest and Land Fires After Detecting Hundreds of Hot Spots
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Environment & Climate

Central Papua Forms Task Force to Combat Forest and Land Fires After Detecting Hundreds of Hot Spots

From CNN Indonesia · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Papua Tengah province in Indonesia has formed a task force to combat forest and land fires.
  • The decision follows the detection of hundreds of hot spots across the province.
  • The task force will coordinate fire-fighting efforts in eight districts and aims to prevent further burning activities.

The Provincial Government of Papua Tengah has established a Task Force for Forest and Land Fire Management (Satgas Karhutla) in response to the detection of hundreds of hot spots across the region. This initiative aims to coordinate and manage the response to escalating fires throughout the province's eight districts.

The formation of the task force was formalized through a gubernatorial decree, with the Governor of Papua Tengah, Meki Nawipa, appointed as its chairman. Governor Nawipa is scheduled to lead a virtual meeting with the heads of the task forces in each of the eight districts, who are also the respective regents, to discuss the strategy.

The governor will lead a zoom meeting on Sunday (23/8), with the heads of the task forces of the eight districts. The heads of the task forces of the eight districts are the bupati.

— Emanuel YouA spokesperson for the Governor of Papua Tengah explained the structure and immediate plans of the newly formed task force.

Data from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) indicates a significant number of hot spots in Papua Tengah between August 23-29, 2026. While BMKG reported 50 hot spots specifically within Papua Tengah, Nabire station recorded a much higher figure of 653 hot spots in the province. Nabire district alone accounted for 321 hot spots, followed by Puncak (100), Dogiyai (97), and Paniai (59).

Emanuel You, a spokesperson for the Governor, stated that the task force's primary role is to assess the initial steps taken by each district in combating fires and to identify specific needs for each area. He emphasized the importance of data collection from the districts to understand the scale of the fires and tailor response efforts accordingly. You also urged the public to actively prevent fires by refraining from any burning activities that could damage forests and land, which are vital resources for the community.

If we consider forests and land as the 'noken' of life, then it is our obligation to protect them, to preserve them. We must no longer engage in burning activities.

— Emanuel YouThe spokesperson urged the public to participate in preventing forest and land fires.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNN Indonesia in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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