Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian and South Korean governments are working to finalise the development of a Forest and Land Fire Management Center in South Sumatra, Indonesia.”We have been cooperating in numerous initiatives, most notably the finalisation of the Forest and Land Fire Management Center,” Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said during a site visit on Thursday (Aug. 6).In a statement cited here on Friday, Antoni noted the facility is expected to strengthen Indonesia’s capacity to tackle wildfires amid increasing complexity from climate change.He had met Korean Forest Service Minister Park Eunsik last April to advance the cooperation during the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s diplomatic tour to South Korea and Japan.Antoni expressed his confidence that Indonesia and South Korea would continue expanding collaboration on handling forest and land fires, stressing their transboundary nature.He pointed out that such fires tend to generate smoke and haze reaching neighboring countries, requiring joint prevention and response across jurisdictions.”Note that the haze from wildfires recognises no administrative boundaries. A fire breaking out in Ogan Komering Ilir could affect other regions, even communities abroad,” he noted.In this context, he also highlighted that Indonesia had shown improvements in wildfire handling in recent years, noting the government's commitment to reducing affected areas despite projections that El Nino would arrive earlier this year.”Our hope this year is to significantly reduce land and fire cases compared to 2023, even though El Nino will occur earlier, ensuring as little impact as possible on the public,” Antoni said.Meanwhile, Korea-Indonesia Forest Cooperation Center CoDirector, Jeong Cheolho, underscored the Forest and Land Fire Management Center as the outcome of five years of bilateral collaboration.Jeong said the facility was made possible through intensive exchange of technology, experience, and best practices in wildfire mitigation. He also stressed the project development, expected to finish this year, would not mark the end of cooperation.