Forest Fire Management Becomes One of the Focuses of Indonesia-South Korea Cooperation
The Indonesian government and South Korea have officially strengthened their strategic cooperation, primarily in sustainable forest management and forest fire handling. This bilateral collaboration was marked by the signing of two cooperation documents between Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni and Korean Forestry Minister Park Eunsik in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday (1/4).
“The signing of the cooperation between the Ministry of Forestry and the Korean Forest Service represents green diplomacy as part of President Prabowo Subianto’s state visit to further strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, particularly in promoting strategic cooperation in the forestry sector,” said Forestry Minister Raja Antoni in his statement received in Jakarta.
The first document signed is the “Framework Arrangement on Cooperation on Priority Program in Forestry”.
“This serves as the umbrella for strategic cooperation between the two countries in supporting efforts to address climate change through the forestry sector, including sustainable forest management, mangrove and peat rehabilitation, ecotourism development, social forestry, and strengthening the forest carbon market,” said Raja Antoni.
Furthermore, the second document is the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Forest Fire Management and Post-Fire Recovery Cooperation, which specifically promotes cooperation in prevention, preparedness, response, and post-fire forest recovery.
“This includes the utilisation of technology such as satellite-based monitoring and strengthening human resource capacity,” said the Forestry Minister.
Meanwhile, Minister Park stated that the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry is the most strategic partner for the Korean Forest Service.
He said that Korea’s overseas forestry representatives are currently only placed at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Jakarta, indicating the importance of Indonesia in Korea’s forestry cooperation.
The Korean Forest Service also announced plans to launch a forest fire monitoring satellite in September 2026 capable of real-time monitoring, including covering approximately 55 percent of Indonesia’s territory.
In response, Forestry Minister Raja Antoni expressed his confidence that this cooperation will provide significant benefits for Indonesia, particularly in enhancing preparedness against potential forest and land fires.
He views this cooperation as highly relevant, especially in facing the potential El Niño phenomenon projected to occur in June 2026.
The two countries also agreed to promote the implementation of cooperation through various activities, including the exchange of knowledge and technology, joint project development, training and capacity building, and strengthening institutional networks through the Joint Consultation Committee mechanism.