Enviro News Asia, Riau – The Ministry of Forestry, through the Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement, in collaboration with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the Riau Provincial Disaster Management Agency (BPBD Riau), and the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU), has commenced the third phase of Weather Modification Operations (WMO) in Riau Province.
This initiative is part of the extension of the Forest and Land Fire (karhutla) Disaster Emergency Response period declared by the Riau Provincial Government.
The third phase of WMO will run for 10 days, funded by the Ministry of Forestry.
This program follows the directive of Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni to strengthen forest and land fire prevention efforts in a rapid, collaborative, and measurable manner.
Riau Province has been under forest and land fire emergency status from 22 July to 4 August 2025, which was then extended for two weeks following the Disaster Task Force’s evaluation.
During the emergency period, mitigation efforts have included ground firefighting by the Ministry of Forestry’s Manggala Agni teams together with the Riau Forest and Land Fire Control Task Force, as well as aerial operations including patrols, water bombing, and WMO.
Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, stated that WMO is proof of the government’s commitment to anticipate and respond to forest and land fires.
“This activity is made possible through inter-agency cooperation and the full support of all parties,” he said during the launch of WMO in Pekanbaru.
Data from the Ministry of Forestry recorded 142 forest and land fire incidents in Riau in July 2025, covering approximately 1,768 hectares. As of 9 August 2025, an additional 93 incidents had occurred, covering 1,150 hectares.
Fire suppression and cooling operations are currently ongoing in Indragiri Hilir and Rokan Hilir.
The first phase of WMO was conducted from 2–12 May 2025, followed by the second phase from 21 July–9 August 2025 with support from BNPB.
Based on rainfall monitoring, these periods resulted in five days of rain in Rokan Hilir and eight days in Rokan Hulu.
Since 2015, WMO has been a permanent forest and land fire prevention strategy and has reduced the burned area by up to 77% in 2024 compared to the 2019 baseline.
This method is effective in wetting dry peatlands, maintaining groundwater levels, and protecting Peat Hydrological Areas.
Dwi emphasized that successful forest and land fire control requires cross-sector collaboration, solid coordination, strong leadership, and active community participation.
“With the synergy of all parties, we hope that the forest and land fire disaster in Riau will soon be brought under control,” he concluded. (*)
