Assessing the Domino Effect of Forest and Land Fires

Several regions are still battling forest and land fires (karhutla). Not only in hotspot locations, other areas are also affected by the fire’s impact, namely smoke haze.

Member of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Daniel Johan, stated that the current forest and land fires have reached the highest level compared to previous events. He even said that the current figures could still potentially increase.

“Looking at the peak of El Nino, it can be estimated that the extent of forest and land fires will continue to grow. This is because the peak of El Nino will still occur in September,” Daniel said in detikSore, Monday (24/8).

On the other hand, the government continues to accelerate fire suppression efforts. During his visit to Riau on Monday (24/8), President Prabowo directly led a coordination meeting with various agencies regarding forest and land fire management.

Citing detikSumut, he said that the handling of forest and land fires in several regions of Indonesia is beginning to show positive progress. The government is targeting all forest and land fire hotspots to be addressed and resolved within the next one to two weeks. Prabowo said the government has deployed a large force to accelerate the extinguishing process. Various equipment and personnel have been mobilised, ranging from dozens of helicopters, more than a dozen aircraft, hundreds of water drills and water pumps, to thousands of personnel in the field.

Behind these forest and land fire management efforts, a new spectre is emerging that Indonesia will soon face: the ecological impact. detikSore will review in greater depth the extent to which forest and land fires affect ecological inequality as well as other domino effects caused by this event. Featuring IPB Environmental Forensics Expert, Bambang Hero Saharjo, follow the discussion in detikSore!