Officially Appointed as Environment Minister, Jumhur Prepares Mitigation to Face El Niño Cycle in Indonesia

“And in the near future, regarding El Niño, yes, regarding forest fires. Okay, this is also an issue, I’ll just say this. I will work hard with Mr Deputy Minister and the support of all parties, of course, to ensure that forest fire mitigation is carried out very seriously,” said Jumhur at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry building in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (29/4/2026).

Jumhur stated that he has received reports on the obstacles to forest fire mitigation in Indonesia. He assured that mitigation efforts will be prepared thoroughly in the future.

“Actually, I have received reports, there are many ways to mitigate this. But they don’t work because of one thing or another, so insyaallah in the current situation, I will lead,” he said.

“Hopefully, with this long El Niño, with good hard work, we can suppress it to the lowest possible level,” he added.

Jumhur will also ensure that mitigation efforts are maximised for parties holding concessions, including forests owned by indigenous communities.

“That is where our intervention must be more serious, because they may not be educated about it. Therefore, there will be considerations, okay, there will be funding support to help create ditches, water pooling, for those with open access,” he stated.