April 20, 2026 | 10:01 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Poor governance is believed to have contributed to the spread of forest and land fires in early 2026. The Ministry of Forestry, which is responsible for managing 120.5 million hectares of terrestrial forest areas, has been drawn into the issue.
Longstanding problems in the authority over peat ecosystem protection have become more complicated following the separation of the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Environment. Peatland governance has appeared neglected since President Prabowo Subianto dissolved the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) at the end of 2024.
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni and Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq did not respond to Tempo’s questions regarding these issues. However, in a written response on Saturday, April 18, 2026, Ristianto Pribadi, Chief of the Public Relations and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Forestry, affirmed his ministry’s commitment to reducing the extent of forest and land fires, including in peat ecosystems.
“The performance target set is a 10 percent reduction in burned areas over the next five years, using 2023—the most recent occurrence period—as the baseline,” Ristianto said. The following is Ristianto’s written explanation.
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