Indonesian Police Official Urges Village-Led Fire Prevention in South Sumatra

Community preparedness

Heryawan, head of the National Police Security Maintenance Agency (Baharkam), called for education and village-level participation to play a larger role in fire management, rather than leaving the task to the government and security forces.

"Prevention must start early and involve the community. Public understanding of environmental protection is one of the keys to preventing forest and land fires," he said.

He urged village administrations, residents and other local stakeholders to work together on sustained prevention. Broader participation, he said, could strengthen environmental awareness and help communities recognize potential fires before they spread. He described mutual cooperation as a foundation for a system built around preparedness and environmental protection.

The village-level focus also featured in the restoration agency's plans. Satyawan Pudyatmoko, head of the National Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BPGMN), accompanied Hidayat on the visit and said his agency would identify villages to prioritize as the frontline of fire prevention.

Matching prevention to peatland conditions

Heryawan said academic research should guide fire prevention by examining differences between regions and how conditions change over time. Authorities also need a better understanding of peat depth, ecosystem conditions and land cover in fire-prone areas so they can adapt measures to each region.

He called for government agencies, security authorities, researchers and the public to coordinate their efforts, with the aim of lowering fire risks and protecting South Sumatra's peatland ecosystems.

The province contains about 10 percent of Indonesia's peatland, Governor Herman Deru said on November 1. He put the area of its peat hydrological zones at two million hectares, including 1.27 million hectares that have been affected by fires.

Hidayat said South Sumatra is building water inlets alongside canal blocks. The inlets return river water to peatland areas to help retain moisture and reduce the risk of fire.

Nationwide, the Environment Ministry says nearly 35,000 canal blocks serve approximately 4.15 million hectares of peatland managed by 314 companies. Another 8,857 have been built outside concessions. Officials estimate that restoring peatland hydrology across Indonesia still requires more than 17,000 additional structures.

Weather modification and firefighting operations

Deru said South Sumatra would continue dry ice seeding and weather modification to reduce haze and extinguish hotspots. One aircraft is carrying out dry ice seeding, supported by two Hercules aircraft.

Citing forecasts from the meteorology agency BMKG, the governor said dry weather would return before the rainy season becomes more widespread, which is projected for late November to early December 2026.

Nationally, the Forestry Ministry reported 96 high-confidence forest and land fire hotspots as of 9 p.m. local time on October 31, down from 160 the previous day. The six priority provinces accounted for 19 of the total: 15 in Central Kalimantan, three in South Sumatra and one in South Kalimantan.

The ministry said 61 aircraft were still assigned to firefighting operations. Of those, 24 were being used for aerial patrols and weather modification, while 37 helicopters were conducting water bombing.

Proposed changes to burning rules

The government is also pursuing changes to land-clearing rules. Hidayat said on October 13 that it was initiating a revision of Article 69, Paragraph (2) of Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management.

The proposed revision would eliminate the provision permitting households to clear up to two hectares by burning based on local wisdom. Hidayat also said concession land burned before commercial planting would be barred from being replanted with plantation crops, including oil palm, to deter deliberate burning for new plantations.