Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Encourages Three Disaster Mitigation Steps, Early Warning is Key

JAKARTA, GARISBUMI.com – Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Yuliot encouraged the government and stakeholders to accelerate three strategic steps to face increasingly complex disaster risks. All three include investing in resilience, strengthening inclusive early warning systems, and collaboration across sectors and countries.

According to Yuliot, disaster mitigation cannot be postponed because climate change, environmental degradation and social inequality have created systemic threats that can endanger people's safety.

“Today we no longer talk about disasters as isolated natural events. Climate change, environmental degradation and social inequality have merged into one massive systemic threat,” said Yuliot.

This statement was made when opening the 5th Asia Disaster Management and Civil Protection Expo & Conference (ADEXCO) and The 3rd Global Forum for Sustainable Resilience (GFSR) 2026 in Jakarta, Wednesday, September 9 2026.

“We have to remember that every day counts. Delaying disaster risk mitigation today means accumulating casualties in the future," he said. he stressed.

Three Steps to Strengthen Disaster Mitigation

Yuliot assesses that the emergence of new risks is happening faster than increasing capacity to deal with them. Therefore, he encouraged three strategic steps to strengthen disaster resilience.

First, disaster risk reduction must be placed as a primary investment in national development, not just an operational cost.

The government and business actors need to invest sustainably in the development of infrastructure that is resilient and environmentally friendly. This investment is needed to reduce losses, protect the community, and maintain the continuity of economic activity when a disaster occurs.

Second, the Early Warnings for All system must be strengthened. Technical data regarding disaster threats needs to be translated into local information that is easy to understand and can be accessed by all levels of society.

Early warning systems must also reach vulnerable groups, including children, people with disabilities, indigenous communities, and residents living in areas with limited communications infrastructure.

Third, the government needs to strengthen cross-border collaboration and multi-stakeholder solidarity. Disaster mitigation efforts require the involvement of the government, private sector, academics, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the younger generation.

Forest and Land Fires Threaten Energy Infrastructure

On this occasion, Yuliot also highlighted forest and land fires that occurred in a number of areas in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua.

Forest and land fires not only cause environmental damage and threaten public health, but can also disrupt strategic infrastructure in the mining, oil and natural gas sectors.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources expressed its appreciation to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) for its quick response in protecting vital national objects from the threat of fire.

“We express our highest gratitude and appreciation to BNPB for its quick response in extinguishing forest fires in the Tangguh Bintuni oil and gas working area, West Papua Province,” said Yuliot.

The ADEXCO and GFSR 2026 forum has the theme Putting People at the Center of Resilience. This activity was attended by Deputy Minister of National Development Planning/Deputy Head of Bappenas Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha C. Nasir, Deputy for Systems and Strategy at BNPB Raditya Jati, as well as representatives of the United Nations, ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Through this forum, the government encourages discussions about disaster resilience not to stop at exchanging ideas. It is hoped that the meeting will produce commitments that can be implemented to strengthen community protection from disaster risks in the future.