The Head of the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG), Teuku Faisal Fathani, has publicly detailed an innovative shallow drilling technique designed to tackle recurring forest and land fires, commonly known in Indonesia as karhutla. Speaking after a high-level limited cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Thursday, September 24, 2026, Fathani explained that this strategy was among the key operational frameworks discussed directly with President Prabowo Subianto. The primary focus of this methodology targets vulnerable peatland ecosystems, which have historically proven exceptionally difficult to extinguish once ignited due to underground smoldering.
The newly highlighted technique centers on deploying shallow boreholes across high-risk sectors. Groundwater is subsequently extracted using portable pumps and dispersed directly onto the blazing or smoldering terrain. According to Fathani, a single drilling point can successfully facilitate firefighting efforts within a radius of approximately 200 meters. This localized water mobilization framework is designed to empower ground response teams, ensuring they possess immediate, self-sustaining water resources even in remote areas where natural water bodies have dried up during prolonged dry seasons.
Background Context and the Threat of Peatland Fires
Forest and land fires have remained a persistent environmental, economic, and public health challenge for Indonesia over several decades. While fires occur across various forested landscapes, the blazes originating in tropical peatlands present the most severe hazards. Peatlands consist of accumulated partially decayed organic matter spanning millennia, acting as massive carbon sinks. When these lands are drained for agricultural expansion or dried out during severe droughts driven by climatic phenomena such as El Niño, they become highly flammable.
Unlike surface vegetation fires, peat fires burn beneath the surface, consuming carbon-rich soil layers. This characteristic makes them notoriously resistant to standard surface firefighting methods and traditional water-dropping helicopters. They produce thick, acrid haze that frequently blankets vast regions of Southeast Asia, severely disrupting regional aviation, shutting down schools, and causing spikes in acute respiratory infections among millions of citizens.
The economic fallout from these disasters includes massive agricultural losses, destruction of vital biodiversity habitats—including endangered species like the Sumatran orangutan—and significant carbon emissions that undermine international climate commitments. Consequently, successive Indonesian administrations have sought to refine preventive and responsive protocols, shifting from reactive emergency measures to systemic landscape management.
Chronology of the Presidential Policy Shift
The discussion surrounding shallow drilling and enhanced ground task force capabilities represents the latest step in a comprehensive policy evolution under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.
In the weeks leading up to the September 2026 limited cabinet meeting, meteorological indicators forecasted extended dry spells across several provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan, prompting heightened alert levels from the BMKG and the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). Recognizing the limitations of relying solely on weather modification technology—such as cloud seeding—and aerial water-bombing fleets during extreme droughts, the government initiated a strategic review of grassroots firefighting readiness.
During the session on Thursday, September 24, 2026, key stakeholders gathered at the Presidential Palace to formulate a decentralized, highly responsive mitigation model. It was during this briefing that Teuku Faisal Fathani presented the shallow drilling concept as an effective, low-cost tactical intervention for peatland zones.
This announcement closely follows other major structural developments aimed at institutionalizing fire prevention. Notably, the government recently established the National Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency, placed directly under the authority of the President, to streamline inter-agency coordination, restore degraded hydrological functions, and enforce strict ecological protections.
Operational Mechanics of the Shallow Drilling Method
The shallow drilling approach relies on decentralized resource mobilization. Traditional firefighting operations in remote peatlands often suffer from logistical bottlenecks, primarily the challenge of transporting massive volumes of water across roadless, swampy terrain.
By utilizing lightweight, portable pumping units combined with strategic shallow boreholes, field operators can tap into shallow aquifers—the water table resting just beneath the peat surface. Once a borehole is established, the portable pump creates sufficient pressure to project water outward, covering a 200-meter radius. This creates a localized defense perimeter that can suppress active flames and thoroughly drench the surrounding peat matrix to prevent subterranean fire propagation.
Fathani emphasized that this technique forms the backbone of an upgraded ground task force strategy. While aerial surveillance and water bombing remain crucial for large-scale containment, ground units equipped with portable drilling and pumping gear can achieve immediate tactical deployment at the nascent stages of ignition, stopping small flare-ups before they evolve into uncontrollable mega-fires.
Community Integration and the Masyarakat Peduli Api
Beyond technological interventions, the national strategy heavily emphasizes community-based disaster risk reduction. During the cabinet discussions, officials underscored the vital role of rural communities, specifically through local volunteer organizations known as Masyarakat Peduli Api (MPA), or Fire-Aware Communities.
These grassroots groups consist of villagers residing near high-risk forest and peatland zones. By integrating local populations into the official early warning and initial response network, the government aims to drastically reduce response times. Members of the MPA receive specialized training in fire suppression techniques, equipment maintenance, and hazard identification. Furthermore, they serve as community educators, promoting zero-burning practices for land clearing among local farmers.
The involvement of village communities creates a vital psychological and social barrier against intentional land burning, which has historically been utilized as an inexpensive method for agricultural preparation. By coupling community vigilance with modern tools like shallow drilling systems, the government seeks to foster a sustainable culture of prevention.
Official Responses and Institutional Collaboration
The implementation of these diverse techniques requires synchronized collaboration among multiple government bodies, including the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the BMKG, the BNPB, regional local governments, and military-police elements forming the regional disaster task forces.
Environmental policy experts and disaster management specialists have cautiously welcomed the administration’s tactical shift toward localized peatland management. Analysts note that while aerial firefighting captures public attention, sustainable fire management is ultimately won or lost on the ground through rapid initial attack capabilities and hydrological restoration.
The establishment of the National Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency directly under the President’s office is viewed by observers as a necessary structural enhancement. This direct reporting line aims to cut through bureaucratic red tape that has previously hindered cross-sectoral coordination between central ministries and regional administrations.
Broader Environmental and Economic Implications
The long-term implications of deploying shallow drilling techniques alongside institutional restructuring extend far beyond immediate fire suppression. Indonesia remains under intense international scrutiny regarding its greenhouse gas emissions profile. Because peatland fires release gigatons of stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, successful prevention directly translates to meeting Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
Economically, mitigating karhutla protects the agricultural supply chain, particularly the palm oil and pulp-and-paper sectors, which face stringent international trade regulations and sustainability certifications. Preventing large-scale haze events also safeguards public health, preserving human capital and avoiding the massive healthcare expenditures and productivity losses associated with severe air pollution episodes.
As Indonesia navigates upcoming dry seasons, the operational success of the shallow drilling initiative, combined with community empowerment and centralized oversight, will serve as a crucial test for the nation’s evolving environmental governance framework. The proactive posture adopted by the administration signals a firm commitment to transforming how the country addresses one of its most persistent ecological vulnerabilities.
