Minister Of Transportation: Synergy With The Police Lowers The Forest Fire Area This Year

JAKARTA - The decline in forest fires this year was highlighted by the Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni. He said that the achievement of a decrease in the area of forest and land fires (karhutla) this year occurred, one of which was due to the synergy of law enforcement with the Indonesian Police in the field which caused a deterrent effect.

"Strict law enforcement from the National Police makes the deterrent effect in areas prone to forest and land fires even more pronounced," said Raja Juli Antoni, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, October 25.

Minister of Forestry Raja Antoni revealed that the area of forest and land burned nationally was successfully reduced from 376 thousand hectares in 2024 to 213 thousand hectares this year.

This number also decreased significantly compared to the peak of the forest and land fires in 2015 which reached 2,611,411 hectares and in 2019 an area of 1,649,258 hectares.

In detail, forest and land fires this year, the fire area in peatlands reaches 24,212 hectares and mineral land is 189,772 hectares.

In addition, hotspots for the period January 1 to September 26, 2025 were recorded at 2,248 points, this number decreased 23.9 percent compared to 2024 as many as 2,954 points.

Delivered after a meeting with the National Police Chief General Pol. Listyo Sigit Prabowo in Jakarta on Friday (14/10), the Minister of Forestry conveyed the success thanks to the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto and strong collaboration between agencies, including the TNI and Polri.

On the same occasion, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit stated that throughout 2025 his party had handled 83 suspects in forest and land fires, an increase from 47 cases in 2024.

"We strengthen preventive measures and law enforcement so that forest and land fires continue to decline," said the National Police Chief.