Ministry emphasizes prevention to control forest fires

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Forestry is focusing on preventive measures to control forest fires in Indonesia by involving the community and taking legal action against those who violate forest conservation rules.

"Regarding forest fire control, we prioritize prevention because when fires already occur, they are hard to extinguish," Secretary of the ministry's Directorate General of Law Enforcement, Lukita Awang Nistyantara, stated in a press conference here on Wednesday.

He explained that in the first half of 2025, based on SiPongi forest and land fire monitoring data, 854 hotspots were recorded, covering a total area of 8,594 hectares.

Based on Sipongi data, most hotspots were detected in East Nusa Tenggara, followed by West Kalimantan, Riau, and West Nusa Tenggara.

"Based on hotspot trends in Indonesia, fires tend to occur from July to November. To this end, our team, along with the Forest Fire Control Center and other teams, continues to move quickly to extinguish any fires that occur," he affirmed.

Nistyantara also explained that the ministry has involved 376 community groups in forest fire prevention efforts.

Furthermore, the Directorate General of Law Enforcement has handled 210 complaints so far in 2025 and resolved 19 criminal cases where the investigations have been completed and met the required standards.

"There were 55 forest area enforcement activities to save watershed areas and 46 operations to secure areas and the distribution of forest products," he remarked.

He added that the Ministry of Forestry has handled seven cases of illegal logging, seizing a total of 271 thousand cubic meters of timber, and conducted operations to eradicate illegal trade and poaching of wildlife, with a total of 15 cases reported.

"As for forest fire control activities, as of this semester alone, there have been 941 forest fire control efforts, covering a total area of 4,700 hectares," he remarked.