Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto established the National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency on September 24, 2026, to oversee wildfire prevention and early detection directly from the presidential office.
President Prabowo Subianto has created a body to tackle forest and land fires by managing vulnerable peatland and mangrove ecosystems across six primary provinces. The newly formed National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency (BPGMN) answers directly to the president, marking a clear institutional shift from its predecessor, the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM), which previously operated under the Forestry Ministry. The agency will be directly under the president, staffed by scientists and professionals and equipped with an adequate budget,
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said after a limited meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
BPGMN Focuses on Six Provinces and Early Prevention
The newly empowered agency is turning away from reactive firefighting toward early intervention. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni announced the strategic pivot following a limited meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, explaining that prevention is far more important, effective and efficient than reactive measures. Prevention is far more important, effective and efficient than reactive measures,
Raja Juli said.
The new agency will bring together scientists and professionals to strengthen peatland management and develop measures aimed at reducing the risk of recurring forest and land fires. Initial operations will concentrate on six regions with significant peatland areas: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya noted that the agency is expected to strengthen wildfire prevention through research, mapping, early warning systems, and hotspot monitoring in peatland areas. Beyond administrative restructuring, the government is preparing active on-site measures, noting that ground task force operations will be optimized to enable a faster response when fires occur, alongside the deployment of water pumps and shallow well drilling points to strengthen firefighting capabilities in peatland areas.
Artificial Intelligence and Village-Level Fire Brigades
To spot fires before they spread, the government is integrating advanced technology with local community networks. The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has also been instructed by Prabowo to support BPGMN, particularly through improvements to the government’s early-warning system for forest fires.
BRIN Chairman Arif Satria said the agency is upgrading its hotspot detection system using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify potential fires earlier and improve the government’s ability to respond before they escalate. We will continue updating the system with increasingly advanced AI to anticipate forest fires even earlier,
Arif said. At the same time, the administration is revitalizing the Fire-Aware Communities (MPA) program, also referred to as Fire Care Community, to place local villagers on the front lines of defense. Arif said villages are well positioned to help protect local natural resources because of their close relationship with surrounding ecosystems, and the government plans to strengthen and revitalize Masyarakat Peduli Api (MPA) so they can serve as the frontline of forest and land fire prevention at the village level.
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya stated that the involvement of scientists and professionals is intended to ensure that peatland management is based on more comprehensive knowledge and research while supporting early prevention of wildfires. By linking the knowledge of scientists, technology, and community experience, we hope to be able to manage peatland more comprehensively while safeguarding ecosystems and preventing wildfire recurrences,
Teddy said.
Prabowo Signals Crackdown on Corporate Burning and Loophole Regulations
Alongside scientific management and community patrols, the presidential administration is overhauling legal oversight. In a broadcast on the President Secretariat’s YouTube channel, the president discussed peatland management and the risk of forest fires with academics, and President Prabowo emphasized that the government will continue investigating corporations that deliberately engage in burning while cleaning up contradictory regional rules. First, we must rectify the regulations. We have to be firm on this,
said Prabowo, as quoted by ANTARA.
The president singled out eight regency-level regional regulations that still permit land burning of up to two hectares, calling the allowance a loophole that complicates control efforts if the fire spreads.
There are still eight regency-level regional regulations. Just imagine someone trying to exploit the loophole allowing the burning of two hectares—which, in my view, is complete nonsense, the idea that a single person can burn two hectares. If they burn two hectares, how do you stop that fire?
Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia
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