Photo: The readiness of TSE Group’s firefighting personnel and fleet serves as part of the company’s preventive measures in addressing the heightened risk of forest and land fires caused by extreme drought conditions in South Papua.
BOVEN DIGOEL – The El Niño phenomenon that has struck the South Papua region for over the past four months has triggered a wave of extreme drought, unprecedented in the last decade.
The parched vegetation and strong winds have created environmental instability, placing the region on red alert for the threat of forest and land fires (Karhutla).
Therefore, since the onset of the dry season in May, TSE Group has consistently intensified preventive mitigation measures through the dissemination of legal regulations and fire prevention protocols. This socialization was conducted by the Sustainability team, the Public Relations team, and the Occupational Safety and Health Guiding Committee (P2K3) to employees across every TSE Group plantation business unit, as well as to the communities residing around the Company’s operational areas.
Furthermore, all firefighting personnel along with the company’s heavy equipment have currently been placed on full 24-hour standby.
“The company’s firefighting team conducts 24-hour patrols around the Right to Cultivate (HGU) concession area to ensure that potential fires can be immediately addressed and the spread of flames can be controlled. Recently, several hotspots originating from outside the HGU area encroached upon the plantation territory. We promptly took action to prevent further spread of the fire,” stated Arnol Tahir, Assistant Manager of the Firefighting Team.
Amidst these conditions, humanitarian commitments remain a priority for the company’s firefighting team, which swiftly deployed its fleet and personnel to extinguish fires approaching residential areas, even though the hotspots were located outside the boundaries of the company’s concession.
“We are greatly assisted by the presence of the company’s firefighting team. They are always on standby, even arriving before the fire escalates. If it were not for their assistance, the fire could have spread further and caused significant harm to the residents,” explained Jhon Doi, a resident of Naga Village, Jair District, Boven Digoel, who lives near the Trans-Papua Highway.
Nevertheless, in facing the severity of this climate anomaly, the company’s independent capacity certainly has its limitations. Therefore, the management of TSE Group issues an open appeal and extends an invitation for close collaboration to the local government, relevant agencies, and all elements of society to jointly oversee the mitigation of forest and land fires, suppress unfounded speculations, and prioritize the safety and environmental sustainability of South Papua. (PR)
