The role of Weather Modification Technology for forest and land fire disaster mitigation in the perspective of carbon emission reduction in Indonesia

Abstract

This paper reviews the effectiveness of implementing Weather Modification Technology (WMT) in efforts to control forest and land fire disasters in Indonesia. Analysis is carried out on several parameters in the field that can be measured and observed. WMT has been proven to be able to increase rainfall intensity by 12.9% and shorten the duration of Consecutive No Rain Days, which in turn can reduce the number of hotspot events in the target area. The implementation of WMT during the rainy season transition period has also been proven to be able to increase the peatland groundwater level, which ultimately shortens the drought period in the target area. The WMT implementation program, which has become increasingly well-planned in the last 4 years (2020-2023), has proven to be able to reduce the number of hotspot incidents, the extent of forest and land fires, and the amount of carbon emissions in Indonesia quite significantly. Based on updated data until September 2023, the number of hotspots, burnt area, and total carbon emissions in Indonesia were "only" 22%, 38.9%, and 5.3% respectively compared to the numbers in 2019, which was both an El Nino year.