POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - There has been a substantial decrease in the extent of burned areas in Indonesia over the first two months of this year (Jan-Feb) compared to the same period in 2020, the first year of the pandemic during which no haze-causing fires occurred.
This was revealed by Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Mar 17) with reference to satellite monitoring data and ground-based evidence.
The country's forestry authorities disclosed that during January and February of 2021, there was a decline of 50.7% in areas afflicted by forest and land fires in comparison to the same period last year.
In the first two months of this year 4,813 hectares were burned, whereas in the same period last year the corresponding figure was 9,753 hectares, representing a sharp drop.
In late December last year, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya urged us not to lose sight of the fact that there had been no haze-causing fires in the country, as well as no transboundary haze, in the first year of the global pandemic, as previously reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS.
This stood in stark contrast to other countries, such as the US and Brazil, which endured massive wildfires last year.
The following chart depicts the decline in burned areas in the first two months of 2021 compared to the same period last year, as divulged by Indonesia’s forestry authorities.
Mainly mineral soils affected
The ministry’s data also showed that of the 4,813 hectares burned by forest and land fires in the first two months of this year, around 32.3% were composed of peat soils.
The other 67.7% of the areas affected – a large majority - were made up of mineral soils.
The following chart compares the areas containing peat and mineral soils burned by forest and land fires during January and February 2021, with reference to the ministry’s data.
Drop of over 12%
The ministry’s data also included a comparison of the number of hotspots with a confidence level of 80% or more - representing potential fire spots - from January 1 to March 17 (up to 07:00 Western Indonesia Time) this year with those in the same period last year.
Satellite-based evidence demonstrates that the number of hotspots has decreased by more than 12%.
According to NASA's Terra/Aqua satellite data, there were 416 hotspots from January 1 to March 17 this year, 57 lower than last year’s corresponding figure of 473.
Minister Nurbaya responded to a query from FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Mar 17) by saying that the Indonesian authorities are still continuing to anticipate potential fire spots this month as an increase at certain levels in several regions has been observed. In this regard, as a first priority alert, various on-the-ground actions have been ordered to ensure that everything is prepared for the onset of the dry season.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - There has been a substantial decrease in the extent of burned areas in Indonesia over the first two months of this year (Jan-Feb) compared to the same period in 2020, the first year of the pandemic during which no haze-causing fires occurred.
This was revealed by Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Mar 17) with reference to satellite monitoring data and ground-based evidence.
The country's forestry authorities disclosed that during January and February of 2021, there was a decline of 50.7% in areas afflicted by forest and land fires in comparison to the same period last year.
In the first two months of this year 4,813 hectares were burned, whereas in the same period last year the corresponding figure was 9,753 hectares, representing a sharp drop.
In late December last year, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya urged us not to lose sight of the fact that there had been no haze-causing fires in the country, as well as no transboundary haze, in the first year of the global pandemic, as previously reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS.
This stood in stark contrast to other countries, such as the US and Brazil, which endured massive wildfires last year.
The following chart depicts the decline in burned areas in the first two months of 2021 compared to the same period last year, as divulged by Indonesia’s forestry authorities.
Mainly mineral soils affected
The ministry’s data also showed that of the 4,813 hectares burned by forest and land fires in the first two months of this year, around 32.3% were composed of peat soils.
The other 67.7% of the areas affected – a large majority - were made up of mineral soils.
The following chart compares the areas containing peat and mineral soils burned by forest and land fires during January and February 2021, with reference to the ministry’s data.
Drop of over 12%
The ministry’s data also included a comparison of the number of hotspots with a confidence level of 80% or more - representing potential fire spots - from January 1 to March 17 (up to 07:00 Western Indonesia Time) this year with those in the same period last year.
Satellite-based evidence demonstrates that the number of hotspots has decreased by more than 12%.
According to NASA's Terra/Aqua satellite data, there were 416 hotspots from January 1 to March 17 this year, 57 lower than last year’s corresponding figure of 473.
Minister Nurbaya responded to a query from FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Mar 17) by saying that the Indonesian authorities are still continuing to anticipate potential fire spots this month as an increase at certain levels in several regions has been observed. In this regard, as a first priority alert, various on-the-ground actions have been ordered to ensure that everything is prepared for the onset of the dry season.
RELATED STORIES
