Forest and land fires (karhutla), including peatland fires, continue\nto burn in the South Kalimantan Province. South Kalimantan will trial\npeatland fire suppression using an injection system of Methyl Ester\nSulfende Sulfonate (MES) surfactant solution.<\/p>\n
On Thursday (17\/9), the Governor of South Kalimantan, Muhidin, led a\ncoordination meeting to evaluate forest and land fire management and\ndrought response for 2026 in Banjarbaru. During the meeting, various\nobstacles faced by the Fire Task Force were revealed, ranging from\nlimited personnel and dwindling water sources due to the drought to the\navailability of fuel.<\/p>\n
To date, wildfires continue to occur in almost all regencies and\ncities. The ring one area of Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarbaru has\nbecome one of the worst-affected zones, as forest and peatland fires\nhave reached thousands of hectares.<\/p>\n
Muhidin requested that the Fire Task Force\u2014comprising the Regional\nDisaster Management Agency (BPBD), TNI-Polri, and volunteers\u2014immediately\naddress the fires, which have caused haze, threatened public health and\ntransportation, and caused environmental damage. In relation to this,\nthe Governor of South Kalimantan instructed that fire suppression\nefforts in the zone surrounding Syamsudin Noor Airport be\nintensified.<\/p>\n
In addition to increasing ground and air personnel strength, the\nauthorities will conduct a large-scale trial of the Methyl Ester\nSulfonate (MES) surfactant solution for peatland fire suppression using\nthe injection method. Previously, the surfactant solution was used by\nthe South Kalimantan Regional Police for small-scale peatland fire\nsuppression at several locations and was deemed quite successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wildfires and droughts occurring now require serious attention,\nextra effort, and collaborative work from all elements, including the\ncommunity, to help monitor any intentional land-clearing burning by\nrogue individuals,\u201d said the Governor.<\/p>\n
The trial will be conducted on Friday (18\/9) in the Guntung Damar\npeatland area in Banjarbaru, which currently has dozens of hectares\nstill burning.<\/p>\n
The Chief of the South Kalimantan Regional Police, Inspector General\nRosyanto Yudha Hermawan, stated that the injection method will be more\neffective and capable of saving water, time, and labour. This peat\ninjection method is an innovation in managing wildfires in South\nKalimantan\u2019s peatlands to extinguish hidden embers within the ground,\nusing specialised perforated pipes inserted into the burning peat\nlayers.<\/p>\n
It was also explained during the coordination meeting that\npressurised water mixed with Methyl Ester Sulfonate (MES)\nsurfactant\u2014derived from vegetable oil\u2014is injected directly into the\ncombustion points underground. This technique has proven effective in\ndrastically reducing soil temperature, suppressing smoke and subsurface\nembers, and preventing the fire from reigniting.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/peatlands-in-south-kalimantan-continue-to-burn-1789642593", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }