PT Mayawana Persada Conducts Science-Based Fire Mitigation by Strengthening Peatland Hydrology Management

Pontianak, August 25, 2026 – Intensified efforts to combat forest and land fires (karhutla) are underway through rapid suppression operations across the PBPH concession area of PT Mayawana Persada in West Kalimantan, spanning both Ketapang and Kayong Utara Regencies. Joint response teams have deployed directly to the field to suppress active fire sources, control spread rates, and prevent fires from expanding into adjacent zones amid peak dry-season conditions and El Niño climate anomalies.

For the company, fire management extends beyond extinguishing flames; it represents a commitment to safeguarding forest sustainability, air quality, environmental stability, and public safety. Guided by a localization-first principle, integrated coordination is maintained through real-time hotspot surveillance via the official SiPongi platform of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), synchronized with daily ground patrols.

"Our top priority right now is ensuring that fire response is executed as swiftly and effectively as possible, while simultaneously mitigating environmental and community impacts. We recognize that this situation is a matter of public concern. Therefore, alongside resource mobilization for field response, we are conducting comprehensive evaluations of site conditions and management protocols that require further strengthening moving forward," stated Iwan Budiman, S.Hut., Director of PT Mayawana Persada.

To reinforce frontline readiness, PT Mayawana has scaled up monitoring intensity and fire crew deployment. The company currently fields seven core squads alongside supporting teams, totaling 170 personnel—a number that continues to scale based on field demands—comprising employees, local community members, and relevant agencies stationed across eight fire response posts. This operational readiness is backed by P32-compliant firefighting infrastructure, observation towers, drones, VTOL unmanned aerial vehicles, CCTV networks, and 74 water points distributed across four operational sectors and routinely maintained to guarantee water availability.

Teams execute intensive 24-hour daily patrols, pairing direct suppression efforts with the construction of firebreaks tailored to dynamic field conditions. Once a fire is successfully contained, operations shift to systematic cooling and periodic area monitoring to prevent secondary ignitions.

Complementing emergency response actions, the company prioritizes hydrological management as a vital safeguard to suppress fire risks across peatland ecosystems. Agus Trijoko, Assistant Head (Askep) of Environment at PT Mayawana Persada, dispelled misconceptions that drainage canals dry out the landscape, clarifying that all internal canal infrastructure is engineered to retain and regulate water distribution (rewetting).

"Facing the dry season and El Niño, all canal control gates have been firmly sealed to preserve water reserves across the landscape. Technically, the company maintains Water Table Levels (TMA) in strict accordance with government regulations to ensure the peat remains moist without inundating root systems," Agus explained

This precision hydrology approach aligns with government regulations (Government Regulation No. 71/2014 jo. No. 57/2016) and tropical peatland restoration literature (Ritzema et al., 2014; Taufik et al., 2017). Continuous rewetting is crucial to preventing subsurface smoldering combustion—a concealed and persistent fire risk if peat layers become excessively dry. Water table depths are tracked around the clock in real-time via automated telemetry sensor stations (level loggers).

Community Capacity Building and the MATA PANDAWA Landscape Collaboration

Beyond technical governance, the company positions local communities as the foundational pillar of fire prevention. Through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, PT Mayawana Persada supplied dedicated firefighting equipment to Padu Banjar Village—a partner village under conservation NGO Yayasan Palung located in Simpang Hilir Subdistrict, Kayong Utara Regency.

The equipment handover was formally received by Padu Banjar Village Head Kasdy, S.E., alongside Samsidar, Chairperson of the Banjar Lestari Village Forest Management Institution (LPHD), and Hendri Gunawan representing Yayasan Palung. This contribution serves as a vital asset for Padu Banjar, which geographically borders the Sungai Paduan Protected Forest landscape, empowering local readiness and rapid response capabilities.

This distribution reflects PT Mayawana Persada’s ongoing commitment to the collaborative working group framework of the MATA PANDAWA Landscape. Management expects that these tools will be maintained and cooperatively utilized by residents to independently and sustainably detect and suppress grassroots fire risks.

Peatland Restoration and Wildlife Corridor Protection

Under the ecosystem recovery pillar, rehabilitation initiatives adhere to an official, verified Peatland Restoration Document. Charia Salasari, Assistant Head of Sustainability at PT Mayawana Persada, noted that revegetation focuses on acid-tolerant endemic peat swamp tree species (Lampela et al., 2017).

"Seedlings are cultivated directly within our internal forest nursery to ensure natural acclimatization. Utilizing a 5×5meter planting spacing and biannual silvicultural evaluations, our current revegetation survival rate has reached approximately 80 percent," Charia explained.

Long-term landscape protection commitments are further demonstrated through a proposed expansion of conservation allocations from 37,000 hectares to 71,000 hectares within the revised Business Work Plan (RKU), encompassing enhanced protection zones across the southern sector of the concession.

Muharjan, Assistant Head of Sustainability, added that this protected area expansion is integrated with Biosphere Reserve policies and multi-stakeholder partnerships.

"These dense-canopy conservation zones function as secure wildlife corridors for populations of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and other endemic Bornean wildlife, while simultaneously guaranteeing ecological sustainability for neighboring communities," Muharjan concluded.

Through rapid field response commitments and science-based forestry practices, PT Mayawana Persada continues to collaborate with local governments, security forces, conservation partners, and village communities to suppress fires, prevent expansion, and secure the future of West Kalimantan's forest ecosystems.