This step follows the dissolution of the Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM), which was previously a non-ministerial government agency responsible for restoring peat areas in six priority provinces: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan.
"We will involve several parties, including the Ministry of Environment and the BMKG, to collaborate in this effort. This collaboration can help reduce the number of forest and peat fires," the minister remarked on Monday.
According to Antoni, peat restoration requires a cross-sectoral approach, noting that 80.15 percent of the total 8,594 hectares of land burned so far this year were peatlands.
To address this, the rainfall potential will be increased through a series of weather modification operations (OMC), one of the government's methods to maintain humidity and reduce the risk of fires, the minister stated.
The Ministry of Forestry relies on the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), which have data on land wetness levels, including peat water levels, to assess fire risk and guide restoration efforts, Antoni stated.
"OMC is not only carried out when a fire occurs. When entering the dry season, BMKG and BNPB have already visited vulnerable areas to wet our peatlands," he explained.
He emphasized that an integrated approach involving all ministries, law enforcement officials, and local governments is key to preventing and recovering from the impacts of fires on peatlands, which have long been hotspots for land fires in Indonesia.
"We also have volunteers in the Fire Awareness Community (MPA) in every region who are always responsive and willing to help. I believe this kind of mutual cooperation is something that other countries, including developed nations like the United States, cannot achieve," he remarked.
Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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