Indonesia
Archipelago
Police have ramped up postfire monitoring to ensure that unscrupulous actors or uninformed residents do not exploit burnt land for cultivating cash crops, including oil palm.
Police officers douse a peatland fire on Aug. 25, 2026, in Tambang district, Kampar regency, Riau. (AFP/Wahyudi)
Police in Riau are ramping up supervision of areas scorched by blazes to prevent their being turned into oil palm plantations by unscrupulous parties, as rain in the past few days have helped extinguish wildfires.Riau Police chief spokesman Sr. Comr. Akmadi said handling forest and peatland fires, also known by the portmanteau karhutla, did not stop when they had been extinguished, emphasizing land monitoring as part of a sustainable strategy.
