Enviro News Asia, Banjarbaru — Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry is strengthening forest and land fire (karhutla) prevention and response measures in South Kalimantan and other fire-prone regions as the country prepares for the peak of the 2026 dry season.
Thomas Nifinluri, Director of Forest Fire Control at the Ministry of Forestry, said the ministry has deployed 180 Manggala Agni personnel across three operational areas—Tanah Bumbu, Banjarbaru, and Tanah Laut—to enhance field operations. Their duties include routine patrols, hotspot monitoring, early fire suppression, and public awareness campaigns aimed at preventing forest and land fires.
Thomas said that from January 1 to July 16, 2026, Manggala Agni teams and partner agencies in South Kalimantan conducted 107 firefighting operations, successfully handling fires across 321.04 hectares. On July 16, firefighting operations were still underway in Tanah Bumbu Regency and Banjarbaru City, while hotspot ground verification was conducted in Tanah Laut and Kotabaru regencies. The ministry continues to strengthen personnel deployment, equipment readiness, fire prevention, and suppression operations across fire-prone regions nationwide.
Nationally, the Ministry of Forestry recorded 107,465.47 hectares of burned land between January and June 2026. The five provinces with the largest burned areas were West Kalimantan (28,680.47 hectares), Riau (15,477.95 hectares), East Nusa Tenggara (10,538.30 hectares), Maluku (7,091.07 hectares), and South Papua (6,281.81 hectares).
In South Kalimantan, forest and land fires affected 383.07 hectares during the first half of 2026, including 29.44 hectares of peatland and 353.63 hectares of mineral soils. Authorities also detected 177 medium- to high-confidence hotspots across several districts. Despite the increased fire risk, air quality remained under control as of mid-July, with visibility at Syamsudin Noor Airport reaching 10 kilometers, moderate air quality conditions, an average temperature of 34°C, and humidity of 58.67%.
To improve preparedness, the South Kalimantan Provincial Government declared a Forest and Land Fire Emergency Alert Status from July 6 to October 31, 2026. The Ministry of Forestry, together with provincial and local governments, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Manggala Agni, and other stakeholders, has organized emergency preparedness roll calls and coordination meetings to strengthen inter-agency collaboration.
The provincial BPBD activated its forest fire command post on July 15, followed by the establishment of additional emergency posts in fire-prone areas involving government agencies, security forces, and local stakeholders. Weather Modification Operations (OMC) have also been conducted since July 15 based on cloud forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), while peatland rewetting efforts continue through water gate management to maintain groundwater levels and reduce fire risks.
Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho emphasized that the ministry is also intensifying legal action against individuals and companies responsible for illegal burning. Enforcement measures include administrative sanctions against concession holders that fail to protect their operational areas, civil lawsuits to recover environmental damages, and criminal prosecution of individuals and corporations proven to have intentionally started forest fires.
Dwi also expressed appreciation for the cooperation among central and local governments, the military, police, businesses, academics, communities, and other stakeholders in strengthening national fire preparedness.
He said integrated efforts covering prevention, emergency preparedness, firefighting, law enforcement, and public education will continue throughout the 2026 dry season to safeguard forests, protect the environment, and ensure public safety.
According to BMKG, most parts of Indonesia have entered the dry season, with drier weather conditions influenced by the 2026–2027 El Niño event. These conditions are expected to increase the risk of forest and land fires, particularly in highly vulnerable regions.
The Ministry of Forestry also reported that hotspot monitoring through the Forest and Land Fire Information System (SIPONGI), using NASA’s Terra/Aqua satellite imagery, recorded a 166.99% increase in high-confidence hotspots as of July 17, 2026, compared with the same period in 2025, indicating a growing risk of wildfires across Indonesia.
The ministry urged the public to help prevent forest and land fires by avoiding land clearing through burning and immediately reporting any signs of fire to the relevant authorities. (*)
