Dialogue between President of the Republic of Indonesia and Academics on Peatland Management in Relation to Forest and Land Fire Potential at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Monday, September 28, 2026

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Prabowo Subianto)

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished professors,

The problems we face as a nation and a state include, among others, forest fires, particularly those occurring on peatlands. The issue is that every year we experience forest fires. There is one phenomenon: our neighboring countries also have forests, but perhaps they do not have peatlands as extensive as ours. You know better, you understand, that is the reason I have invited you here.

Therefore, we will continue to investigate companies and individuals who deliberately set fires. First, we must correct our regulations. We must be firm on this. There are still eight regional regulations at the regency level. Imagine this. Some people seek to use the loophole allowing people to burn two hectares of land, which, in my opinion, is complete nonsense. If people are allowed to burn two hectares of land, how can that fire be stopped? It is impossible. Once one hectare, the size of a football field, is on fire, one person cannot stop it. Those regional regulations are deceptive. They are misleading.

Therefore, I have assigned the TNI [Indonesian National Defense Forces], and later possibly the Polri [Indonesian National Police], to deploy 1,000 personnel, including majors, lieutenant colonels, colonels. I will deploy 1,000 personnel to those [affected] regencies to educate people there. And I have already provided the solution. If you need land, report it. We will prepare the land for you. We will provide pumps for you. We want our people to prosper; we would never want to harm our people.

But companies shall be treated differently, as we have imposed specific regulations and obligations on them. In every five hectares, there must be a tower. In every certain number of hectares, there must be a retention pond (embung). Every certain areas are subject to specific regulations. And you must have a firefighting team made up of your own employees. Some companies comply, some others do not. This must be put into order.

But now, as experts, please inform me. First, what is the best way for us to prevent fires in forest areas? Second, how must we manage forest areas that contain peatlands? Those are two issues. And third, I request your advice regarding whether we can utilize these peatlands productively. Can we cultivate crops on peatlands? I think those are the three most important questions I am asking you as experts to answer.

Therefore, do not misunderstand me. Sometimes, when I speak before an audience, my words are twisted. People say that I do not respect experts. [As a matter of fact,] I have the highest respect for experts. It is unquestionable. Why have I been successful as an officer? Because I always seek for knowledge from the experts.

Anyway, please provide me with inputs: What can we do so that by next year, we can be better prepared? I have already ordered anticipatory measures. It turns out that, based on reports I received, despite using helicopters, the most effective measure is ground personnel.

Therefore, I am asking for your advice on what we have to do. Regarding physical mitigation, we will carry it out. Firefighters must be ready. Long before fires occur, build retention ponds and pumps. Prepare everything.

Regarding peatlands, if possible, we need a scientific answer, a scientific solution. Please.

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham (Bagus Muljadi)

Indonesia is a global ecosystem chokehold or choke point. Without us, it is impossible for the world to accurately calculate the carbon cycle. We hold the fate of many nations, and therefore, we have the responsibility to understand it. And as scientists, we need to report how we understand it.

We try to understand it through an academic lens. Peatlands are the most difficult living ecosystem to understand because there are so many variables: rainfall, water balance, rate of decomposition, plant decay, mechanical loads imposed by structures built atop it. All these factors make the mathematical equations very difficult to understand. And present here before Mr. President are the most competent scientists in their respective fields, who can conduct in-depth research on this issue from an actually highly interdisciplinary perspective.

And therefore, we are here to discuss three matters: How do we protect and cultivate peatlands? How do we predict, monitor, and detect points of peatlands’ vulnerability at a very early stage? And what must we do once a fire has already occurred?

Professor of Fire Safety Engineering, University of Indonesia (Yulianto S. Nugroho)

There are several points that are very important for us to note. Peat is very difficult to extinguish once it begins to burn. Why is this so? Because peat has hydrophobic properties once it has undergone an extremely severe drying process. Thus, based on our research using water spray at laboratory scale, we found that approximately six liters of water is required to extinguish one kilogram of peat, Mr. President. This is a remarkable figure. Therefore, if a fire occurs in one hectare of peatland, please correct me, we would need approximately 200,000 liters to one million liters of water. This is extraordinary. In other words, the key is how we prevent fires from occurring in the first place. It is very difficult. Nevertheless, fires still occur.

Therefore, we need to try to develop ways to detect fires as early as possible. One of the methods is to use small-scale thermal cameras and infrared devices so that we can identify hotspots. And based on our research, we found that injection into the peat layers can greatly accelerate the process. However, as we know, once we are in peatland, access is very difficult. Therefore, again, prevention is one of the keys.

And as we stated earlier, is water bombing effective? Based on the data we have, it is not effective, Mr. President. But perhaps it is an effort we can undertake for extremely severe conditions.

Therefore, we encourage companies to equip themselves not only with firefighting teams and retention ponds as mentioned earlier, but also with detection systems using technology that can monitor their surroundings, either by using drones or through monitoring towers, to identify hotspots. And these hotspots must be tackled immediately as soon as possible. The prediction made by Dr. Bagus may serve as one solution for us to estimate how long emergency conditions may occur.

Lecturer in Civil Engineering, University of Riau (Sigit Sutikno)

Peat consists of 90 percent water. Therefore, what lies within the soil is an underground reservoir. However, canals are often dug and consequently, reduce the water volume there. Nevertheless, even under current dry conditions, the water level is unlikely to be deeper than 1.5 meters. What does this mean? It means that if fires occur there, the firefighting tool is already there, too. The water is there. The problem is how to extract or access that water.

We have an experience in Riau with Fire-Aware Communities (Masyarakat Peduli Api/MPA) or disaster-aware communities. Earlier, you mentioned that the frontline is the local community, and I strongly agree. However, not all MPA members have the capacity to extinguish fires using the water available there. Our experience with MPA in Bengkalis regency, Riau province, involves creating shallow bore wells. Since the wells’ depth is only one meter to 1.5 meters at most, we can extract water quickly. Our experience shows that drilling such well takes only 10 to 15 minutes. The equipment needed is simply a pole, which is used to  insert a pipe into the ground and then connected to a Robin pump, and water comes out within 10 minutes. I believe this can be taught to other Fire-Aware Communities.

Second, regarding the term embung [retention pond]. An embung in peatlands is not for storing water, since there is already an underground reservoir underneath. Its function is to access water. Therefore, do not make embung on peatlands too large, as this will increase evaporation. Local practice in Riau calls this perigi, which can simply take form of a rectangle-shaped pond measuring one meter by two meters. And we have implemented this in this village every 200 meters. Why 200 meters? Because a fire hose has approximately that length. Therefore, when a fire occurs, we can simply insert the hose into the perigi.

Thank you, Sir.

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology (Indratmo Soekarno)

We once had the Peatland Restoration Agency. We once had the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency. We actually had mapped out several steps in the management plan at that time; there was even a book on how we manage peatlands. Those past experiences could apparently serve as a lesson learned for how we manage peatlands.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Prabowo Subianto)

Okay, let us first agree that we need this agency. It must exist. The National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency. It will not be under a ministry. It will report directly to the President. I agree. Good. Any further information? Who else would like to add? Please.

Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry, University of Lambung Mangkurat (Ahmad Kurnain)

We recommend that every village should have a village regulation related to how to maintain and carry out mitigation of disasters, including fires and floods. This is important because there are best practices that can be implemented. For example, in every household yard, we can create biopores, no matter how small, this actually promotes self-reliance in their surroundings. Thus, whatever happens, they already carry out mitigation related to this. Thank you, Mr. President.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Prabowo Subianto)

All right, I think that’s correct. Let us now conclude that the key lies in the villages. My plan is to improve their homes by providing toilet facilities along with clean water. Furthermore, our plan is for every village to have at least one megawatt of solar-powered electricity. That is the direction we will be taking.

(EST/TM)