Forestry Ministry urges universities to help prevent forest and land fires
A sustainable campus is not merely one filled with trees, energy-efficient buildings or reduced waste.
Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia is encouraging universities across the country to play a part in controlling, as well as preventing, forest and land fires (karhutla).
Dyah Murtiningsih, Director General of Watershed Management and Forest Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Forestry, said during the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings Indonesia 2026 event in Yogyakarta on Tuesday that the risk of forest and land fires is rising due to climate conditions and human activity.
“Universities can play a role through research and technology, including satellite-based hotspot monitoring, peatland monitoring, strengthening fire-aware communities, and support for fire prevention,” she said.
According to her, universities are also being encouraged to become ‘Centres of Excellence’ that bring together science and policy, as well as technology and community needs.
Ni Made Dwipanti Indrayanti, Regional Secretary of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), reading remarks on behalf of the DIY Governor, said that a sustainable campus is not merely one filled with trees, equipped with energy-efficient buildings, or one that reduces waste.
“The true measure is visible when that change enters the way a campus is managed, how knowledge is developed, and when thousands of students form habits that they then carry into society,” she said.
She said a sustainable campus cannot rely on its physical condition alone; rather, sustainability must become part of governance, operations, education, research, community service and public accountability.
Indra Wijaya Kusuma, Chair of the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings Indonesia 2026 organising committee, said that digitalisation serves as an important bridge so that various sustainability efforts in the fields of environment, energy, waste, transport, education and governance can run effectively and be measurable at the same time.
He said UI GreenMetric is not merely a ranking exercise; the instrument also serves as a benchmark for universities to learn, compare good practices and improve their sustainability performance.
As such, he said, figures and indicators should not stop as administrative achievements, but become the basis for seeing real change taking place within the campus environment.