Indonesia's Forest Fires Surge in August 2023 at the Peak of the Dry Season

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Adi Ahdiat 05/09/2023 14:50 WIB

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According to Sustainable Madani data, the indicative area of forest and land fires in Indonesia reached 152,000 hectares in August 2023, approximately double the area in the previous month.

Indicative Area of Forest and Land Fires in Indonesia by Month (January-August 2023)

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Indonesia's Forest Fires Surge in August 2023 at the Peak of the Dry Season

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Indicative Area of Forest and Land Fires in Indonesia by Month (January-August 2023)

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According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Indonesia has entered the peak of the dry season in August 2023.

"The peak of the dry season is August-September. The peak of El Niño is actually later, around October-November," said BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati, as reported by *Kompas.com* on Thursday (August 10, 2023).

Meanwhile, according to data from the non-profit organization Madani Berkelanjutan, forest and land fires (karhutla) in Indonesia have surged at the beginning of this year's dry season peak.

Madani Berkelanjutan monitors the extent of karhutla using the Indicative Burned Area (AIT) method, which is an estimation of the area suspected to have been/is being burned based on data on the spread of hotspots that have accumulated and persisted for a relatively long time.

"With AIT, parties can get a picture of the movement of fires from month to month relatively earlier (real-time), so they can prevent the expansion of karhutla," said the Madani Berkelanjutan team in their report *The Threat of Karhutla During El Niño* (August 2023).

"In the last 4 years, the comparison of AIT modeling with burn scars issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) has a similarity percentage of 82%-97%. This means that AIT can be said to be quite credible for knowing the indication of karhutla faster," they said.

Based on Madani Berkelanjutan's monitoring, in August 2023 the indicative area of karhutla throughout Indonesia reached 152,678 hectares, an increase of about twice compared to the previous month.

Cumulatively, during the January-August 2023 period, the total indicative area of national karhutla has exceeded 250,000 hectares. This figure is higher than last year, where according to KLHK data, the total national karhutla area throughout 2022 was only 204,894 hectares.

Madani Berkelanjutan also provided several recommendations for the Indonesian government, ranging from increasing efforts to prevent and control karhutla in vulnerable areas, prioritizing extinguishing fires in burned peatland areas, to stopping the issuance of industrial permits in natural forest and peatland ecosystem areas.

"Karhutla also threatens Indonesia's achievement of its commitment to reduce emissions, as affirmed in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and FOLU Net Sink 2030 documents. The government's target of zero karhutla in 2030 is facing a major challenge," they said.

Editor : Adi Ahdiat

"Disclosure: This is an AI-generated translation of the original article. We strive for accuracy, but please note that automated translations may contain errors or slight inconsistencies."

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Indonesia's Forest Fires Surge in August 2023 at the Peak of the Dry Season

Indonesia's Forest Fires Surge in August 2023 at the Peak of the Dry Season

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