Peatlands in South Kalimantan Continue to Burn
Forest and land fires (karhutla), including peatland fires, continue to burn in the South Kalimantan Province. South Kalimantan will trial peatland fire suppression using an injection system of Methyl Ester Sulfende Sulfonate (MES) surfactant solution.
On Thursday (17/9), the Governor of South Kalimantan, Muhidin, led a coordination meeting to evaluate forest and land fire management and drought response for 2026 in Banjarbaru. During the meeting, various obstacles faced by the Fire Task Force were revealed, ranging from limited personnel and dwindling water sources due to the drought to the availability of fuel.
To date, wildfires continue to occur in almost all regencies and cities. The ring one area of Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarbaru has become one of the worst-affected zones, as forest and peatland fires have reached thousands of hectares.
Muhidin requested that the Fire Task Force—comprising the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), TNI-Polri, and volunteers—immediately address the fires, which have caused haze, threatened public health and transportation, and caused environmental damage. In relation to this, the Governor of South Kalimantan instructed that fire suppression efforts in the zone surrounding Syamsudin Noor Airport be intensified.
In addition to increasing ground and air personnel strength, the authorities will conduct a large-scale trial of the Methyl Ester Sulfonate (MES) surfactant solution for peatland fire suppression using the injection method. Previously, the surfactant solution was used by the South Kalimantan Regional Police for small-scale peatland fire suppression at several locations and was deemed quite successful.
“The wildfires and droughts occurring now require serious attention, extra effort, and collaborative work from all elements, including the community, to help monitor any intentional land-clearing burning by rogue individuals,” said the Governor.
The trial will be conducted on Friday (18/9) in the Guntung Damar peatland area in Banjarbaru, which currently has dozens of hectares still burning.
The Chief of the South Kalimantan Regional Police, Inspector General Rosyanto Yudha Hermawan, stated that the injection method will be more effective and capable of saving water, time, and labour. This peat injection method is an innovation in managing wildfires in South Kalimantan’s peatlands to extinguish hidden embers within the ground, using specialised perforated pipes inserted into the burning peat layers.
It was also explained during the coordination meeting that pressurised water mixed with Methyl Ester Sulfonate (MES) surfactant—derived from vegetable oil—is injected directly into the combustion points underground. This technique has proven effective in drastically reducing soil temperature, suppressing smoke and subsurface embers, and preventing the fire from reigniting.