Ecobiz.asia — Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry has organized an international training program on forest and land fire suppression in peatland ecosystems, involving global partners including the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), IPB University, the Korea Forest Service, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the French government.
The program, titled the 2nd Training of Trainers (ToT) for Forest Fire Suppression in Peatland, runs for 12 days from April 13 to 24, 2026, with classroom sessions in Bogor, West Java, and field exercises at the Manggala Agni operational unit in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra.
Vice Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki said Indonesia remains committed to protecting peatland ecosystems, which play a critical role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation.
“Indonesia’s peatlands are valuable ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks and habitats for biodiversity,” he said on Saturday (April 18, 2026).
He outlined Indonesia’s forest fire management strategy, which is built on three key pillars: climate risk analysis and weather modification, integrated cross-sectoral operational control, and landscape-based management involving multiple stakeholders.
Rohmat said the training is essential to strengthening human resource capacity in peat fire management.
“The skills gained—from peat fire behavior analysis and GIS applications to field suppression techniques—will enable participants to become agents of change in their respective countries,” he said.
The opening ceremony on April 13, 2026, in Jakarta was attended by South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Yoon Soon-gu, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh, and representatives from the French government and other international organizations.
The training brings together 23 participants from six countries, including 10 from Indonesia, three each from Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste, and two each from Cambodia and Malaysia.
Beyond technical capacity building, the program also aims to strengthen cross-border professional networks in forest fire management and promote knowledge exchange and best practices, particularly in peatland ecosystems. ***
