25 May 2016

Pilot projects established to introduce forest fire prevention procedures will this year involve the private sector, particularly major pulp and paper firms, following massive fires across the country last year…

The project, which will take approximately two months, will study the process and mechanism of a special tactical team and a crisis center to approach local communities and persuade them to adopt new ways of farming without clearing the land by fire.

The project will also asses if the equipment will be sufficient for each crisis center to handle fire emergencies and determine if Manggala Agni — a special fire-fighting unit under Conservation of Natural Resources Unit at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry — should become a separate entity from the ministry…

The government will be working together with several high profile pulp and paper as well as agriculture companies, including Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), Tripura Agro Persada, Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) and Asian Agri during the project which will take around two months…