Riau Police Tighten Monitoring of Former Burned Land to Prevent Replanting
Riau Regional Police have tightened monitoring of former forest and land fire areas to ensure the sites are not subsequently cultivated or exploited. The measure is intended to break the chain of environmental crime through land clearing by burning.
Prevention is carried out by installing signs prohibiting land use on former burned areas, a practice Riau Police have implemented since 2025. Areas that have experienced fires are not simply released after the flames are extinguished.
“Since last year, prohibition signs have been installed at a number of former forest and land fire locations. The aim is clear: burned land remains under supervision and is not immediately cultivated or exploited,” said Riau Police Head of Public Relations, Senior Commissioner Akmadi, to journalists on Saturday (29/8/2026).
The policy carries an important message that fire must not become a shortcut to opening or obtaining benefits from land. The effort is also part of law enforcement that does not stop merely at prosecuting the perpetrators of forest and land fires.
“There must be no assumption that after land burns, it can then be cleared, cultivated and exploited. On the contrary, after a fire, we tighten supervision. That way, there is no incentive or profit to be gained from burning land,” he stressed.
Riau Police have installed 513 signs on former forest and land fire areas since 2025. Field monitoring shows the signs remain in place and former burned areas are confirmed not to have been replanted.
Patrols are also accompanied by public education. Police remind residents not to open or clear land by burning and explain the criminal consequences and fines for forest and land burners.
Akmadi said the measure is part of a sustainable forest and land fire handling strategy. Police are not only present when fires appear, but conduct supervision from before a fire occurs until after it has been successfully handled.
“We carry out prevention through patrols and education. When a fire occurs, all forces are deployed for extinguishing and cooling. After the fire is out, the location remains under surveillance. So the chain of handling is not broken,” he said.
Riau Police also encourage the public to help monitor their areas and immediately report any burning activity or attempts to recultivate former burned areas that have been placed under prohibition.
“The message is simple: burning land must not become a cheap way to open land. We extinguish the fire, we prosecute the perpetrators, and we continue to monitor the former burned land. No party may profit from forest and land fires,” Akmadi concluded.