Ecobiz.asia – After visiting Riau province, which has the largest oil palm plantations and forest areas in Indonesia, Environment Minister Dr. Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said that Riau province has been well-prepared for anticipating potential forest and land fires (Karhutla) during the incoming dry season.
“It’s very important to do direct check on the ground on how we anticipate the Karhutla. I’ve visited fire-prone areas and I see all related stakeholders have been well-prepared. Riau’s readiness in anticipating, preventing, and dealing with Karhutla becomes an important indicator for us,” the minister said on Saturday (10/05/2025).
He said that efforts of tackling Karhutla cases will be seriously pursued as required by prevailing laws.
“We, therefore, want to collaborate with all stakeholders, including GAPKI (the Indonesian Palm Oil Association),” the minister said during the consolidation activity of personnel readiness and land fire control equipment in Riau on Saturday (10/5/2025).
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According to Hanif, such consolidation is necessary considering the fact that Riau has the largest area of oil palm plantations and forest areas.
Based on data from the ministry of forestry, Riau has around 5.5 Million hectares of forests (conservation forest, protection forest, convertible and designated production forest), and peat forest of around 4.9 million hectares, which are the largest in Sumatera island.
The province also has around 4.0 million hectares of oil palm plantations, which are the largest in Indonesia and account for more than 25 percent of Indonesia’s total 16.38 million hectares of palm plantations.
“Efforts of preventing and tackling the forest and land fires should be well-organized. We urge palm oil companies to join with GAPKI. That way then will make it easier for them to tackle forest and land fires,” he said.
The minister said that such consolidation will be also implemented in other regions, especially those considered prone to karhutla cases.
Based on data from GAPKI, there are at least 8 provinces in Indonesia which are prone to Karhutla cases.
“Besides Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimatan and North Kalimantan are also vulnerable to fires,” GAPKI Secretary General Muhammad Hadi Sugeng said during the same occasion.
GAPKI groups 752 palm oil companies or more than 30 percent of around 2,500 palm oil companies operating across the archipelagic country.
“But although not all palm oil companies are grouped in GAPKI, we warmly welcome all industrial stakeholders to join forces to prevent the karhutla cases during incoming dry season,” he said.
According to him, in efforts of preventing the forest fires GAPKI has established collaborations with multiple groups based on landscape, by involving palm oil companies, government institutions, related institutions and fire-concern societies (MPA).
“Besides socialization, member companies of GAPKI also implement standardization of human resources through trainings and certifications,” said Hadi Sugeng.
He said that GAPKI has also conducted weather modifications, and socialized the standard of equipment and facilities in preventing and tackling karhutla cases.
“We also conducted a mapping of areas prone to hotspots and ensured the availability of water in those areas. We also use the technology of drone with flight capacity of more than 30 Kilometers to monitor areas prone to fires,” he said.
We also conducted a mapping of areas prone to hotspots and ensured the availability of water in those areas. We also use the technology of drone with flight capacity of more than 30 Kilometers to monitor areas prone to fires
GAPKI Secretary General Muhammad Hadi Sugeng
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Riau Governor Abdul Wahid also reported that Riau province has been well-prepared in dealing with the threat of karhutla cases.
“Our readiness and alertness are based on the spirit that preventing fires is better than extinguishing them,” said the governor.
He said that his provincial government has taken a number of steps as part of the provincial preparations. “We’ve established a cooperation with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Board (BMKG), and the Regional Disasters Mitigation Board (BPBD). We’ve conducted rain seed in areas prone to fires,” he said.
Abdul Wahid underlined the importance of preventing the forest fires in Riau as part of efforts to support the regional economy of Riau province. “We want to increase Riau’s economic growth to 5% this year. We need to ensure the fire under control in order to maintain investment climate in Riau province,” said the governor.
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Foreign Consolidation
Also in Riau last month, Political and Security Coordinating Minister Budi Gunawan said that the government has declared a forest and land fire emergency status in Riau Province from April to December this year.
“The emergency is based on the prediction of BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Board). It should be in effect until November or December 2025. So far, 81 hectares caught on fire in Riau. It’s the highest compared to other fire-prone provinces such as Aceh, Jambi, and Central Kalimantan,” Gunawan said after having a meeting in Riau on Tuesday (29/04/2025).
Minister Gunawan said the government has prepared a number of strategies to prevent the karhutla cases in Riau.
“The strategies include conducting operations of weather modification from May 1, 2025, water bombing, helicopter patrols, filling ponds, water canals, and maintaining high water levels in peatlands,” he was quoted by Antara as saying.
According to him, his ministry will cooperate with local governments and law enforcement institutions to monitor individuals or companies suspected of intentionally using burning method to clear lands.
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“We’ll keep implementing those preventive measures until the emergency status lifted in December,” he said.
During the same occasion, Budi Gunawan also informed that his ministry has been seeking to strengthen diplomatic relations with neighboring countries potentially affected by the smoke caused by the forest and land fires in Indonesia.
“In the past Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines had often filed complaints on the smoke caused by fires in our provinces bordering them. We’ll keep communicating with them regarding the potential fires. The smoke has not only disturbed public activities, but disrupting flights and public health,” he said in in Pekanbaru, Riau.
He said that in the past, most of the smoke came from forest and land fires occurred in provinces of Riau, Kepulauan Riau, Aceh, Central Kalimantan, and Jambi. ***