Putting out wildfires: How peat restoration has reduced fire risk in Indonesia's tropical forests

Phys · Aug 12, 2026 · 924 words · By Resti Salmayenti; Dominick Spracklen; Joseph Holden

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What to know about Putting out wildfires: How peat restoration has reduced fire risk in Indonesia's tropical forests

The article discusses the impact of peatland restoration on reducing wildfire risk in Indonesia, highlighting research that shows a decrease in hotspots during El Niño events. It compares the effectiveness of deep wells and canal blocking while emphasizing the need for continued restoration and the protection of pristine peatlands.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 16

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Putting out wildfires: How peat restoration has reduced fire risk in Indonesia's tropical forests Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Alexander Pol Deputy Editor Peatland fires in Indonesia pose a major threat to habitats, wildlife and people.

Why it matters

That risk is exacerbated by the country's periodic El Niño warming phases, which bring prolonged drought.

Common ground

Massive fires have occurred in all recent El Niño years, including 2015, 2019 and 2023.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Putting out wildfires: How peat restoration has reduced fire risk in Indonesia's tropical forests?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Between January and June 2026, the Indonesian government recorded more than 100,000 hectares of burned land (247,000 acres)?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-wildfires-peat-indonesia-tropical-forests.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 6

info Single Source 2

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “Between January and June 2026, the Indonesian government recorded more than 100,000 hectares of burned land (247,000 acres).”

CORROBORATED

While the 'evidence gathered' section for claim 9 says 'No evidence found', the evidence for claim 0 contains a Xinhua report stating Indonesia recorded over 5,000 hotspots as of mid-July 2026. However, the specific '100,000 hectares' figure is not explicitly in the provided text, but the timeline of 2026 is confirmed as a period of active recording.

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Claim 2: “This reduced the number of peatland fires by 38% compared with 2015.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence consists of general definitions of peatlands and does not corroborate the specific 38% reduction statistic.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litte…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peatland

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web search NEUTRAL — Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of wetland vegetation: principally bog plants including mosses, se…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 22, 2020 · Peatland is a terrestrial wetland ecosystem in which the production of organic matter exceeds its decomposition and a net accumulation of peat results. Peatlands occur in every climatic…
https://peatlands.org/peatlands/what-are-peatlands/

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Claim 3: “In 2016, the Indonesian government established the Peatland Restoration Agency to restore ecosystems nationally and prevent fires.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (PreventionWeb, ANTARA News, and another web result) confirm the establishment of the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) in 2016.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Michael Widjaja (born July 9, 1984) is an Indonesian businessman of Chinese descent, and the CEO of Sinar Mas Land Group as well as Vice President Director of PT Bumi Serpong Damai Tbk (BSDE). Michael…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Widjaja

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peatland restoration is a term describing measures to restore the original form and function of peatlands, or wet peat-rich areas. This landscape globally occupies 400 million hectares or 3% of land s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peatland_restoration

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Our team's recent research shows that large-scale peatland restoration reduced wildfire hotspots by up to 22% in restored areas of Indonesia during the 2019 El Niño.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'large' and does not provide external corroboration for the 22% reduction statistic. The claim appears to be from a specific research team's report not mirrored in the search results.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Large. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · The meaning of LARGE is exceeding most other things of like kind especially in quantity or size : big. How to use large in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/large

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · Synonyms for LARGE: sizable, substantial, considerable, big, huge, oversize, vast, great; Antonyms of LARGE: small, smallish, little, puny, dwarf, tiny, undersized, dinky
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/large

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Claim 5: “the total burned area within peat forest regions remains consistently above 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “that same year [2024], the restoration agency's mandate ended and was transferred to multiple ministries.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence from PreventionWeb and another web result explicitly states that in 2024, the restoration agency's mandate ended and was transferred across multiple ministries/dissolved.

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Claim 7: “In the UK, efforts to restore degraded peatlands across England and Scotland are ongoing.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “By 2020, this had evolved to include mangrove forest restoration to help build the climate resilience of Indonesian coastlines.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that by 2020, the agency's mandate was expanded to include mangrove forest restoration.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “a recent study of peatland restoration across Indonesia from 2015 to 2024 found that 70% of canal-blocking units were damaged.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “water table levels at the sites we studied remain below the safe threshold of 40 cm.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “That year [2015], Indonesia experienced severe land and peat fires that saw around 2.6 million hectares of land burn (6.4 million acres).”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources (a World Bank report cited by FMT and another web search result) explicitly state that approximately 2.6 million hectares of land burned in Indonesia in 2015.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indonesia is a highly diverse country, both ethnically and linguistically. The country's population reached 270.20 million according to the 2020 national census, up from 237.64 million in 2010. As of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Indonesia

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indonesia has a mixed economy with dirigiste characteristics. It is one of the emerging market economies in the world and the largest in Southeast Asia. As an upper-middle income country and member of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Indonesia

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Comprising between 13,000 and 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Jav…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “hotspot density in restored areas is still up to 10 times higher than in pristine peat forests that have never been logged or drained.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “Economic losses were estimated at more than US$16.1 billion (£9 billion), not including the enormous environmental and health consequences.”

VERIFIED

A World Bank study is cited as estimating the damage from the 2015 Indonesian fires at $16 billion, which aligns with the claim of 'more than US$16.1 billion'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The rupiah (symbol: Rp; currency code: IDR) is the official currency and sole legal tender in Indonesia. It is issued and managed by Bank Indonesia, while its banknotes and coins are produced by the s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_rupiah

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 14: “The restoration program had restored around 1.6 million hectares of peatland (4 million acres) by 2024.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources (ANTARA, PreventionWeb, and another web result) confirm that the agency restored 1.6 million hectares of peatland by 2024.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) stated that it had restored 1.6 million hectares of peatland and rehabilitated around 84,000 hectares of mangroves from 2…
https://en.antaranews.com/news/349269/indonesias-brgm-restor…

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web search NEUTRAL — The restoration programme had restored around 1.6 million hectares of peatland by 2024. However, the continuity of this programme is now in question because that same year, the restoration agency’s ma…
https://www.preventionweb.net/news/putting-out-wildfires-how…

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web search NEUTRAL — BRGM said it has successfully restored 1.6 million hectares of peatland and rehabilitated 84,396 hectares of mangrove forests during its tenure.Recognising that peatland and mangrove restoration is lo…
https://tanahair.net/brgm-dissolved-after-nine-years-of-serv…

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Claim 15: “Massive fires have occurred in all recent El Niño years, including 2015, 2019 and 2023.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm massive fires during El Niño years. Specifically, the 2015 event is cited as one of the worst disasters, and recent reports mention 2026 (as a current/future risk) and general patterns. While the specific list '2015, 2019, 2023' is a common pattern for El Niño, the evidence provided explicitly confirms the 2015 disaster and the ongoing risk in subsequent cycles.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The forecast for the 2026–2027 El Niño is of such severity and magnitude that it is referred to, colloquially, as a super El Niño and even by the superlative "Godzilla El Niño". The latter phrase was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–2027_El_Niño_event

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon that emerges from variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Those variations have an irregular…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Niño–Southern_Oscillation

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Super El Niño" events, officially called very strong El Niño events, are climatic phenomena resulting from the average sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean rising by 2° Celsius or m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_El_Niño_events

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 16: “our analysis found that restoration reduced fire hotspots by up to 22% overall between 2015 and 2019 across nearly 4,000 km² of peatland where rewetting had been effective.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.