The Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, has revealed that certain\nparties are continuing to engage in land burning even after forest and\nland fires (karhutla) have been successfully extinguished. He noted that\na trend of increasing hotspots is becoming visible every weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, every time the fires are put out, there are still people\nwilling to play with fire to start burning again. We are seeing a trend\nwhere this increases during the weekend. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday\nalways see an increase,\u201d Raja Juli stated at the Senayan parliamentary\ncomplex on Wednesday (1%6\/9\/2026).<\/p>\n
Raja Juli said this situation poses a significant challenge to fire\nmanagement, especially when officers have already exerted efforts to\nextinguish fires in various regions. He urged the public, farmers, and\ncorporations to refrain from land burning amidst the current intense El\nNi\u00f1o conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, I urge individuals, farmers, and corporations not to play\nwith fire during this period of very strong El Ni\u00f1o,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to Raja Juli, the drought conditions are expected to\npersist until late October or early November. He noted that the forecast\nfor natural rainfall, previously predicted for early October, now has\nthe potential to be delayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means the strong El Ni\u00f1o, similar to the El Ni\u00f1o of 2015, will\nremain with us for approximately another 1.5 months,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Despite the reports of repeated burning, Raja Juli stated that the\noverall number of hotspots is showing a downward trend. He mentioned\nthat this data can be monitored openly through the Forest and Land Fire\nControl Information System (SiPongi) of the Ministry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot predict, but I must report that as of today, the numbers\nare continuously decreasing. This data is very open and transparent.\nColleagues can check it on the Ministry of Forestry\u2019s SiPongi,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Based on high-confidence hotspot data provided by Raja Juli, the\nnumber of hotspots was recorded at 398 on 12 September, then 576 on 13\nSeptember, increasing to 1,309 on 14 September, before dropping to 968\non 15 September.<\/p>\n
In the six main provinces prone to forest fires, West Kalimantan saw\na decrease in hotspots from 221 to 51. Central Kalimantan also dropped\nfrom 697 to 226.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, South Kalimantan decreased from 112 to 106, while South\nSumatra dropped from 259 to 200. In Jambi, hotspots increased from 14 to\n18. In Riau, the number rose from five to 15 after no hotspots were\ndetected for four days.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main concentration remains in Central Kalimantan, West\nKalimantan, and South Sumatra,\u201d said Raja Juli.<\/p>\n
Raja Juli stated that the government continues to conduct fire\nmitigation through five steps: weather modification operations (OMC),\nwater bombing, strengthening ground task forces, law enforcement, and\ncommunity participation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have agreed with the Heads of BNPB and BMKG that the most\neffective way to extinguish these fires is through rain via artificial\nrain or OMC (Weather Modification Operation),\u201d said Raja Juli.<\/p>\n
He stated that OMC will be conducted whenever there is potential for\nrain clouds, including in areas that have not yet experienced fires, to\nmaintain moisture and prevent outbreaks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have agreed that if there is any seed of rain, we will\nimmediately conduct OMC. No matter how small the potential for rain\nclouds, we will perform OMC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In addition to OMC, the government is maximising water bombing to\nreach remote areas that are difficult for ground forces to access. The\nstrengthening of ground task forces involves increasing TNI-Polri\npersonnel and deploying approximately 5,000 employees from the Ministry\nof Forestry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin the Ministry of Forestry itself, we are deploying around\n5,000 of our employees, particularly Forest Rangers, to assist in the\nsix provinces prone to forest fires: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West\nKalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Regarding law enforcement, Raja Juli mentioned that 46 cases are\ncurrently being processed by the Directorate General of Forestry Law\nEnforcement, consisting of 15 corporations and 31 individuals.\nFurthermore, the business permits of 26 companies or corporations have\nbeen suspended.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, the suspension of business permits; second, compulsory\nenvironmental restoration, where they must undertake restoration under\nlegal compulsion; and third, if there are indications of criminal\nactivity against a corporation, we will proceed to criminal proceedings\nin coordination with the police,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Raja Juli emphasised that all these measures must work in tandem with\npublic awareness to prevent land burning. \u201cThese five factors must be\nintegrated and worked on together to reduce the impact of forest fires\non the community,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/raja-juli-fires-have-been-extinguished-yet-some-continue-to-play-with-fire-1789545749", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }