Forestry Ministry prioritises Rp550 billion for peatland infrastructure and fire prevention
The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) is focusing a budget allocation worth Rp550 billion in the 2026-2027 fiscal year ceiling structure for improving firefighting facilities and infrastructure (sarpras) as well as strengthening wetting infrastructure in fire-prone peatlands.
Deputy Minister of Forestry (Wamenhut) Rohmat Marzuki, during a working meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Thursday, said the allocation of hundreds of billions of rupiah is a strategy to shift forest and land fire (karhutla) management to a preventive system.
“Looking at the budget structure we have proposed, approximately Rp550 billion is for improving sarpras, increasing patrols, and also repairing water reservoirs or canal blocking in peatland areas, which is a priority,” said Deputy Minister Rohmat Marzuki.
The deputy minister explained that optimising canal blocks and water reservoirs is crucial for maintaining the hydrology of peatlands to keep them wet, thereby mitigating the potential for ground fires, which have been difficult to extinguish once drought strikes.
The Ministry of Forestry noted that during the El Niño period in 2023, the area scorched reached 1.16 million hectares, whilst in the 2019 cycle it was 1.6 million hectares, and in 2015 the highest damage record reached 2.6 million hectares.
The ministry’s mitigation plan aligns with a report from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), which announced that the 2026 dry season has the potential to be drier compared to the average over the last 30 years.
The dry conditions are influenced by the active El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to emerge from late April to early May 2026 and peak in August. This phenomenon affects the reduction in rainfall intensity required to wet peat mineral soils so they do not easily catch fire.
Meanwhile, Commission IV member Dwita Ria Gunadi welcomed the ministry’s commitment to shifting the budget focus towards physical infrastructure components and community involvement on the ground.
However, she reminded that the realisation of the water infrastructure and sarpras budget absorption must be completed on time before the peak of the dry season arrives, so that the performance of teams in the field is no longer reactive once hotspots have already spread.