Indonesia steps up peatland wetting to fight South Kalimantan fires

indonesianupdates.com_admin

2 hours ago

Martapura (ANTARA) – Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said on Sunday that efforts to tackle forest and land fires in South Kalimantan have been intensified by wetting peatlands that continue to emit smoke.

The wetting operation is being carried out by a Ground Task Force comprising the Manggala Agni forest and land firefighting brigade, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri), the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), and the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

“The peatland is still emitting smoke even though there are no visible flames on the surface, so continued wetting is necessary,” Antoni said while inspecting firefighting efforts in Penggalaman, Banjar District.

He said the affected area is outside a designated forest zone but directly borders a protected forest. The burned area is estimated to cover around 36 hectares.

Peatlands can continue to smolder below the surface even after visible flames have been extinguished, making firefighting efforts more challenging, Antoni said.

“Although there are no flames on the surface, there is still smoke coming from underneath,” he said, stressing that the response must be completed thoroughly to prevent the fire from reigniting.

Amid the firefighting efforts, he said the number of hotspots in South Kalimantan had previously declined significantly.

According to data from the Forestry Ministry’s digital forest and land fire monitoring system, the number of hotspots reached 157 on August 21 before falling to 11 at 9 p.m. local time on August 22.

However, monitoring at 6 a.m. local time on August 23 showed that the number had risen again to 44 hotspots across several areas in Banjar District, Banjarbaru, South Hulu Sungai District, and Tapin District.

Antoni attributed the earlier decline to joint ground and aerial operations. Water-bombing aircraft carried out 176 water drops in a single day, he said.

Despite the decline in hotspots, Antoni urged all parties to remain vigilant and strengthen preparedness, as the El Nino phenomenon is still ongoing and is expected to peak in September.

“Do not clear land by burning,” he stressed.