Forestry Minister: Forest and land fires in Riau continue to shrink

The Kerumutan Wildlife Reserve has been inspected, and the ring-like canal blockages have all been resolved.

Pekanbaru (ANTARA) - Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia Raja Juli Antoni stated that forest and land fires in Riau Province continue to shrink after he inspected the fire locations in Kerumutan, Pelalawan Regency.

Raja Juli said in Pekanbaru on Friday that nationally the centres of forest and land fires remain in Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi. According to him, Riau ranks second from the bottom, above Jambi.

“Riau ranks second from the bottom, with figures that continue to shrink, above Jambi because its area is quite small. In Riau, the concentration is still in Pelalawan, Bengkalis, Siak, and Indragiri,” he said.

He admitted that he had checked the fires in Kerumutan and claimed the flames had been extinguished. However, because the area is naturally peatland, smoke is still emerging from several points, so cooling efforts are continuing.

He also conveyed that he came to Riau Province after coordinating with President Prabowo Subianto. He was tasked with checking whether the president’s directives in Riau Province had been implemented.

“Earlier we checked together whether the directives had been executed and carried out by the governor, the regional police chief, and the military commander,” he revealed.

With that, he said, Riau can serve as an example of how collaboration between institutions and agencies works very well.