Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian police chief has reiterated the importance of pushing for a multi-stakeholder collaboration in wildfire prevention and mitigation in Riau, as the province is grappling to extinguish the land and forest fires.
In his remarks during a visit to Riau on Thursday, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo stated that multi-stakeholder collaboration is the key to successfully handling forest and land fires in the province.
During his visit to Riau, one of the provinces most vulnerable to forest fires in Sumatra Island alongside South Sumatra and Jambi, General Prabowo surveyed hotspots and forest fires aboard a helicopter.
He reaffirmed the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration and dedicated efforts to empower authorities in combating forest and land fires in Riau.
As reported earlier, the wildfires in Sumatra have affected not only Riau but also several other provinces, including Jambi and North Sumatra.
In North Sumatra, wildfires had burned at least 422 hectares of land in Padang Lawas District amid this year's dry season.
According to the Ministry of Forestry, as of May 2025, wildfires had burned 8,500 hectares of land across Indonesia, with the vast majority of land and forest fires caused by anthropogenic factors.
"The occurrence of wildfires is expected to rise between June and July," Israr Albar, head of the ministry's Forest Fire Mitigation Division, stated on Wednesday, July 23.
Nearly 100 percent of the wildfires are caused by humans, and the affected area could grow amid extreme environmental heat, he pointed out.
However, anthropogenic factors are not only the main causes of wildfires in Indonesia but also in many other tropical countries in Southeast Asia, especially in relation to peatland fires, he stated.
To prevent and mitigate wildfires, the ministry has conducted weather modification operations in South Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi, the provinces most vulnerable to forest fires.
