Protect peatlands ahead of strong El Niño

Indonesia must not lose the momentum for mitigation, as the losses incurred could become far greater if preventive measures are delayed. Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that Indonesia will once again experience a strong El Niño phenomenon. In most parts of the Archipelago, El Niño is generally marked by a longer and drier dry season. This prediction serves as a reminder for all parties to strive to adapt to the dry season so that its impacts on the lives of the Indonesian nation can be minimised. In other parts of the world, the impacts of El Niño can occur conversely, triggering prolonged rain that has the potential to cause flooding. Actually, for Indonesia, a strong El Niño is not the first occurrence. Similar events happened in 1997–1998 and 2015–2016. During those periods, the strong El Niño in most parts of Indonesia caused widespread drought, clean water crises, and disruptions to food production. Several researchers even refer to the strong El Niño predicted to occur this year as “Godzilla”, a popular term to describe the magnitude of the potential impacts. One sector that needs to prepare for extreme dry weather is the forestry and plantation sector, especially in forest and garden areas located on peatlands. During extreme dry seasons, peatlands that dry out are very prone to catching fire quickly and massively, thus posing a threat to residents around the location, even to communities in neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.