Ministry of Forestry and BMKG sign science-based forest and land fire prevention cooperation agreement

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) regarding science-based prevention of forest and land fires (karhutla).

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni stated that this comes alongside the potential emergence of El Niño in 2026, which could arrive earlier in the second semester of this year (June-July) with weak to moderate intensity, causing the dry season to arrive earlier and be drier.

“For this year, it has already been conveyed that the dry season will arrive earlier than last year and will end later, and with weak to moderate El Niño, the likelihood of karhutla this year is greater compared to last year,” said the Forestry Minister in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The cooperation with BMKG, continued Raja Antoni, encompasses the integration of meteorological, climatological, and forestry data and information, strengthening human resource capacity, up to the implementation of weather modification and science-based risk analysis.

He also said that this effort aligns with Indonesia’s karhutla figures, which show a decline from year to year.

From around 2.6 million hectares in 2015, the area affected by karhutla decreased to 1.6 million hectares in 2019, 1.1 million hectares in 2023, and around 350,000 hectares last year.

Furthermore, the Forestry Minister stated that BMKG plays a very important role in reducing karhutla figures, one of which is through the Weather Modification Operation (OMC) process.

“BMKG plays a very important role in lowering karhutla figures. By predicting the weather more precisely and predictively, including prevention or precaution. Preventing karhutla is far better than extinguishing it once the fire has already raged,” said Raja Antoni.

In addition, the Forestry Minister also assured that coordination to prevent karhutla continues to be carried out, as well as monitoring groundwater levels.

“The OMC is conducted far in advance before the fire starts. Now, we are coordinating with various agencies; we monitor groundwater levels, and when it drops below 40 cm, we will conduct OMC to increase groundwater levels, especially in peat areas. If the water reserves are sufficient, insya Allah, there will be no fires,” explained Forestry Minister Raja Antoni.