Law enforcement is one of the potent tools to curb land and forest fires in Indonesia, a professor of forest protection stated.
The decreasing area of burned land and forest will have an impact on the target of lowering greenhouse gas emissions, Prof. Bambang Hero Saharjo of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB University) stated during a discussion at the Indonesia Pavilion at the COP-26 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Friday.
“Law enforcement is one of the effective tools to curb (land and forest) fires,” according to Saharjo, who was awarded the John Maddox Prize for science in 2019 for his tough stance to defend research data against misperception surrounding forest and land fires.
Given the scientific evidence, the cause of forest fires can be revealed, and the number of forest fires can be reduced, Saharjo who is a forest fire forensics expert affirmed.
Meanwhile, Basuki Wasis, an expert in environment and land destruction at IPB University, noted that land and forest fires in peatland areas may cause ecological and economic losses.
The total restoration of burned peatland areas to their original condition is difficult to realize despite constant efforts to restore their function, he noted.
“Once (living organisms) are burned, they will all disappear, including due to factors like subsidence. What we can restore is its function,” Wasis remarked.
According to the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the area of burned forest in Indonesia has declined to 229,978 hectares in 2021 as compared to 296,942 hectares in 2020 and 1.6 million hectares in 2019.
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Editor : Mahdani
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