Inp.polri.go.id - Pekanbaru.  The Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry  has closed down around 15 hectares of burned land in the Hutan Produksi Konversi (HPK) area in Karya Indah Village, Tapung District, Kampar regency, Riau.

HPK, or literally Conversion Production Forest, area refers to forest areas designated for conversion to other land uses, such as agriculture or plantations, but still classified as forested. 

Rasio Ridho Sani, the Director General of Law Enforcement, explained that the closure was done in collaboration with relevant agencies.  The fire was still active when the sealing occurred on 1 August 2024. 

"This action follows hotspot monitoring from our intelligence center and marks the first step in legal actions against forest fires," Rasio said, as quoted by antaranews.com.

The team also worked with the Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base, the Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), the Sumatra Climate Change Control Center, and the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency to coordinate fire control efforts. 

"We will enforce penalties on any corporations or individuals involved in forest and land fires," he added.

As of now, Riau Province has 198 hotspots, with 1,991.36 hectares of burned land managed in 2024. KLHK has closed seven fire locations this year, including sites in Riau, South Sumatra, Lampung, and West Kalimantan.

(mg/inp/pr/nm)