Riau, April 9 2026 – The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) activity of preparing a basic baseline for strategies for preventing forest and land fires (Karhutla) in Riau Province was carried out as a first step in formulating a more focused, systematic and data-based forest and land fire prevention strategy.
This activity, which is part of the GREEN for Riau initiative initiated by the Riau Provincial Government, with technical support from the UNEP UN-REDD Program and funding support from UK-FCDO, was attended by various stakeholders, ranging from DLHK, BPBPPK, Manggala Agni, development partners, to experts, in order to strengthen cross-sector synergy to encourage more effective efforts to prevent forest and land fires, considering that this issue is still a strategic challenge in Riau Province from year to year.
In the opening, Dr. Matnuril, S.IP., M.Si., MH as Head of Forest Planning and Utilization Division representing Plt. The Head of the Riau Province Environment and Forestry Service (DLHK) said that the preparation of this baseline was an important step in supporting the Riau Provincial Government in formulating a more comprehensive and implementable forest and land fire prevention strategy, considering that forest and land fires are still continuing to occur. He also emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in this forum to gather input and enrich the preparation of baselines as the basis for strategies to prevent forest and land fires that are more effective and can be implemented in the field.
In his presentation, Forest Fire Prevention expert, Dr. Ati Dwi Nurhayati, S.Hut., M.Si., emphasized the importance of preparing a baseline through fire vulnerability and fire risk analysis by considering various variables, such as historical data, peat conditions, climate factors, and human activities. He also highlighted that data related to human activities still needs to be explored further because the initial analysis still uses secondary data from the ministry, so this forum is the first step to strengthen the field data base.
Discussion participants also provided various important input. Riau Province DLHK Representative, Dwi Yana as an Associate Expert Environmental Extension Officer, emphasized the importance of integrating climate data and synchronizing it with various existing planning documents, such as RPPLH, RPPEG, and RPB, as well as the need to consider future climate projections so that the strategies prepared are more anticipatory. He also highlighted the importance of preparing recommendations that do not only stop at the strategy level, but also reach policy and program directions down to the sub-district level, with a pentahelix approach to ensure that no vulnerable areas are missed from intervention.
Furthermore, the Head of the Climate Change, Domestic Solid Waste Management and Capacity Building Division of the Riau Province DLHK, H. Mohammad Fuad, S.H., emphasized the importance of considering resource capacity, both human resources and infrastructure, in preparing a baseline so that it can become a basis for determining realistic intervention needs in the future. He also added that biophysical conditions, especially peat depth, need to be the main indicator in risk analysis considering that areas with deep peat tend to be more difficult to extinguish and require priority treatment.
Another input was conveyed by the representative of BPBD Riau Province, Mitra Adhimukti, who emphasized the importance of including community behavioral factors in the analysis of forest and land fire risks. He highlighted that there are areas with a low level of risk analytically, but which have become vulnerable due to the practice of clearing land by burning. Therefore, determining the priority scale down to the village level or specific location is considered important so that the interventions carried out are more targeted.
From the climate side, the representative of the BMKG for the Riau Region, Warjono, S.Si., M.Kom., conveyed that there were indications of the emergence of the El Nino phenomenon, although it was in the weak category. We still need to be wary of this condition because it has the potential to reduce rainfall and increase dry conditions which can trigger an increase in the risk of forest and land fires in Riau and Indonesia in general.
Through this FGD, the parties agreed that forest and land fire prevention strategies need to be developed in a targeted manner, based on regional priorities, and strengthened at the site level with multi-stakeholder collaboration as the main key. Prevention efforts also need to focus on strengthening early warning systems, community education, routine patrols and sustainable peat management. This activity is expected to be the first step in preparing a comprehensive baseline document as a basis for policy and implementation of the forest and land fire prevention program in Riau Province.