Ministry of Forestry Makes 2026 a Learning Year to Anticipate El Niño 2027
Pekanbaru, (ANTARA) - The Republic of Indonesia Ministry of Forestry has made 2026 a momentum for learning and strengthening coordination to anticipate potential forest and land fires (karhutla) which are expected to increase during the El Niño phenomenon in 2027.
Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni explained, based on scientific explanations from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the El Niño phenomenon has a cycle of around four years that can increase the risk of forest and land fires in Indonesia.
“BMKG explains scientifically that next year will enter the four-year El Niño cycle. Therefore this year is important as both a learning opportunity and preparation,” said Raja Juli after the readiness parade for forest fires in Pekanbaru, on Thursday.
He said four years ago when El Niño occurred in 2023, the extent of forest and land fires was around 1.1 million hectares. The previous period in 2019 was around 1.6 million hectares of karhutla, so there is indeed a declining trend.
He added that the government wants to ensure that fire-fighting infrastructure and cross-agency coordination are strengthened before the El Niño period occurs.
“This is thanks to the cooperation of all parties, both ministries and agencies at the central level and local governments,” he said.
Raja Juli explained that BMKG plays a role in providing weather data and forecasts which are then used by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to carry out weather modification operations to prevent the spread of fires.
In addition, forest fire control also involves field personnel from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri), as well as community participation.
He emphasised that community involvement is an important part of prevention efforts, from the Masyarakat Peduli Api groups, Pramuka, students, indigenous communities, to the Forest Farmer Groups (Kelompok Tani Hutan) who work together in mutual cooperation across various regions.