VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

During this year's long dry season, forest and land fires have occurred in some regions across Indonesia. One of the areas affected by the drought and caused fires is the Mount Bromo tourist area in East Java. The Mount Bromo tourist area experienced several fires and the most recent was at the beginning of September. The drought that hit caused the savanna around Mount Bromo to wither, because the land could easily catch fire. It is believed that the cause of the fire, apart from the drought itself, was also caused by cigarette butt. Meanwhile, in the last case, the trigger was the use of flares or fireworks used by wedding organizers.

Regarding the fire in Bromo which hit more than 900 hectares, Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya, when looking closely at Mount Bromo, Saturday (23/9), said that the government would rehabilitate the Mount Bromo ecosystem. This step is very important because it will restore many aspects, such as physical, economic, social ones, and management, including public education. Therefore, the government is collaborating with a team of experts from the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Gajah Mada University and Brawijaya University.

Head of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS), Hendro Widjanarko previously revealed that since the fire from 6 to 18 September, Mount Bromo suffered losses of around Rp 5.4 billion. According to Hendro, the calculation of the loss value includes the costs of extinguishing fires from land, losses due to loss of animal habitat, and losses due to the cessation of tourist activities in the national park.

As is known, Mount Bromo Tourism is a tourism destination that is visited by many tourists both from within the country and abroad. Currently, the government is promoting tourism potential for state income from the non-energy sector. Besides, the burned area in the Teletubbies hill area is one of the prime objects visited by tourists in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The consequences of this severe fire have hit all aspects of tourism and the socio-economic aspects of the community.

Thereby, there is a need for stricter and clearer regulations for every tourist at every entrance to the area, especially during the dry season. In addition, there is a need to educate stakeholders, including local communities, tourist agents and tour guides to explain the dangers of forest and land fires, their causes, and how to prevent and overcome them. Therefore, collaboration with related parties across sectors is strengthened based on experience.