Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni said the government continues to focus on tackling forest and land fires that have shifted to Central Kalimantan, where the number of hotspots keeps rising
“If we look at the hotspot trend in the six provinces, the figures continue to decline. Riau has recorded zero for the past three days, Jambi had six hotspots yesterday, and now there is only one,” Raja Juli told reporters in the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to the minister, the number of hotspots in South Sumatra had also declined from 17 to 11. A similar decline occurred in South Kalimantan, where the number fell from 68 to 23.
The ministry recorded an increase in hotspots in Central Kalimantan from 643 to 673 areas.
The current hotspots also increased in West Kalimantan, noted from 50 to 167.
“Our main focus is still Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan,” the minister said.
As part of the forest and land fires response, the Head of the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasures (BNPB), Lt Gen Suharyanto, had recently returned from Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan to ensure the firefighting operations are running well.
President Prabowo also attaches great effort to handling the forest and land fires, as on Thursday he gathered some academics to discuss peatland management in preventing recurring fires.
According to a statement from Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, the President wanted to hear the academics’ views and input on peatland management.
The meeting was expected to provide a research-based perspective on addressing recurring peatland fires.
The agenda is a follow-up on the President’s directive during a limited meeting in Jakarta on September 16, 2026.
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Translator: Bayu Prasetyo
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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