Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni has called on all parties to remain vigilant despite a declining trend in forest and land fire hotspots across several regions.
“This drop in hotspots should not lead us to believe our job is done,” Juli Antoni said in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, stressing the need to promptly track down and extinguish remaining fires before they can spread.
According to him, tackling fires on peatlands poses its own unique set of challenges.
“It may look like there are no flames visible on the surface or sometimes only smoke remains. Even without smoke, underground fires can still reignite when blown by the wind,” he explained.
He pointed to fire suppression efforts in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, as a positive trend, with the number of hotspots in the district dropping to 13.
He also attributed the decline to joint efforts involving local authorities, the military, the police, the Forest Management Unit (KPH), the Manggala Agni fire control brigade, Fire Care Community volunteers, and other parties.
The move, he added, was carried out under instructions from President Prabowo Subianto, highlighting oil palm planting activities taking place on land where smoke had barely cleared.
The Ministry’s Directorate General of Law Enforcement, alongside the police and the Ketapang KPH, is taking enforcement action against the unauthorised activity.
While criminal proceedings are being conducted by the West Kalimantan Regional Police, all parties are strictly prohibited from entering or carrying out any activities at the site.
