Gov’t Strengthens Forest, Land Fire Management through Satellite-Based Monitoring, Law Enforcement
The Government continues to strengthen efforts to address forest and land fires through the use of satellite, the deployment of personnel in the field, and the enforcement of laws against those responsible for the burning.
These measures were reported by the Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General Kristomei Sianturi and Chief of the Indonesian National Police General Suyudi Ario Seto during the Plenary Cabinet Meeting marking the second year of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, held at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta, Wednesday (10/21).
The BNPB Head stated that his agency is improving the methodology for calculating the extent of burned areas by utilizing satellite imagery data to ensure more accurate monitoring, specifically for tracking hotspots.
“I would like to report that since my inauguration on October 15, 2026, we have been taking steps to refine our calculation methods by incorporating satellite imagery,” he said.
According to Kristomei, five provinces have been designated as priority areas for the handling: Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jambi, and West Kalimantan. He further explained that the BNPB is employing a “dry ice seeding” technique to induce rainfall in regions affected by forest and land fires.
“As of October 20, we have dispersed 3,100 kilograms of dry ice in five sorties. In South Sumatra, another 800 kilograms were dispersed in a single sortie, which resulted in a reduction of particulate matter (PM) levels by 2.5 points and an improvement in visibility in Palembang, increasing it from 700 meters to 7,000 meters,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Police Chief reported that law enforcement actions regarding forest and land fires involving individuals have been carried out across 13 regional police jurisdictions. As of the time of the report, 286 police case files had been opened, covering a burned area of 5,856 hectares, with 243 individuals named as suspects.
“As of cases involving individuals: 32 are under preliminary investigation, nine have had their preliminary investigations terminated, 189 are undergoing full-scale investigation, and 56 cases have been concluded,” Suyudi said.
Suyudi further said that law enforcement measures also target corporations suspected of involvement in forest and land fires.
“As for corporate cases—based on the latest report on October 20 at 6:00 PM—we have initiated 100 case files across 10 regional police jurisdictions, plus one case file from the Directorate of Specific Crimes under the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim). The total burned area spans 29,534.99 hectares. There are 13 suspects, 6 cases where preliminary investigations have been terminated, and 94 cases currently under full-scale investigation,” he said.
Regarding the progress of investigations into corporations, Suyudi stated that the National Police has recommended the revocation of licenses for 23 cases that have reached the full-scale investigation stage; 11 corporations have been named as suspects, while 12 others have not yet been designated as such.
“For 71 other case files, no recommendation for license revocation has been made yet. Of these, two have reached the stage where suspects have been named, while 69 have not. Among these are 22 corporations affiliated with foreign direct investment,” the National Police Chief added.
Furthermore, Suyudi outlined the size of the concessions and the burned areas belonging to the corporations currently under legal investigation. Among the 11 corporations named as suspects, the total concession area spans 209,933 hectares, with 11,105.39 hectares affected by fires. Meanwhile, another 12 corporations, which not yet designated as suspects, hold concessions totalling 166,756 hectares, 8,849 of which burned.
“Of these 11 corporations, eight are located in West Kalimantan, two in Central Kalimantan, and one in South Kalimantan,” he said. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (GWH/MMB)
