The rescue of Kalimantan\u2019s peatlands will never succeed if we\ncontinue to be trapped in the delusion of romanticising local residents\nas seasonal \u2018Superman\u2019 emergency firefighters. The key lies in restoring\nthe sovereignty of residents at the ground level to become daily water\nstewards who maintain the peat dome as a common resource through an\nequal tripartite collaboration with BRIN and local district\ngovernments.<\/p>\n
Macro-theoretical reviews have clearly detected the root cause of\nforest and land fires (karhutla) at a structural level, namely the harsh\nclash between global supply chain globalisation and national spatial\nregulations; therefore, it is now time to radically shift our analytical\ncompass. The question is no longer \u2018why does this happen\u2019, but rather\n\u2018how can we concretely extinguish the fuse of that fire at the ground\nlevel?\u2019.<\/p>\n
We will not find true answers in the roar of expensive water-bombing\nhelicopter propellers, or rigid, centralised command instructions at a\ntime when smoke has already choked the breathing of children in West\nKalimantan, spreading as far as Sarawak. A permanent solution to forest\nfires demands a radical transformation in environmental governance,\nrepositioning the wet peat dome ecosystem as a common-pool resource that\nis worthy of collective management.<\/p>\n
PEAT DOMES<\/p>\n
Peatlands possess unique hydrological characteristics that cannot be\npartitioned by administrative boundaries or corporate concessions. The\nwater characteristics in a peat dome are integrated; drainage through\nartificial canals by a single business permit holder in one concession\nwill automatically drain groundwater across the entire dome expanse,\nincluding the managed areas of surrounding indigenous communities.<\/p>\n
This is where Elinor Ostrom\u2019s (1990) theory on governing the commons\nfinds its tactical relevance. Ostrom proved that the failure to manage\nshared resources is often triggered by two erroneous extremes:\nunilateral surrender through massive corporate privatisation or state\ncontrol that is too distant from ground realities. The peat dome is an\necological \u2018commons\u2019 that can only be saved if its hydrological\nmanagement rights are returned to local collective institutions that\nmerge physical ecological boundaries with the social institutions of the\nlocal community.<\/p>\n
To operationalise Ostrom\u2019s ideas in the field, peat restoration\nshould be placed within a balanced tripartite collaboration structure\nconsisting of a science bridge, legal facilitation, and local community\nsovereignty. The first pillar is the science-technology bridge led by\nthe National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).<\/p>\n
The role of this state research institution is not merely to present\npost-disaster spatial maps, but also to provide appropriate technology\nfor peat rewetting. BRIN is tasked with designing smart canal blocking\nand productive peat reservoirs capable of maintaining water levels\nduring the dry season without flooding residential areas. This applied\nresearch should be aligned with bioeconomy programmes based on wetlands\n(paludiculture), such as inland swamp fishery cultivation. Through this\napproach, President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s tactical direction to integrate\nforest fire mitigation with rural food security and green economic\ndownstreaming can be realised simultaneously.<\/p>\n
The second pillar is legal legitimacy and decentralisation\nfacilitation by district governments. District governments must act as a\nprotective fortress for local initiatives to break the tyranny of rigid,\nsectoral central policies. The strategic role of district governments is\nrealised through the issuance of local regulations (perda) for\nground-based peat control.<\/p>\n
These local regulations should not merely contain burning\nprohibitions, but also serve as firm legal instruments to audit\noverlapping industrial concession permits, prohibit the opening of new\ndrainage canals by corporations, and ensure tenure certainty for social\nforestry for indigenous communities. Without a legal umbrella from\ndistrict governments that sides with the community, citizens\u2019 ecological\nprotection initiatives will always be vulnerable to being displaced by\nlarge-scale capital expansion.<\/p>\n
The third pillar, and the very heart of the defence for this commons\ngovernance model, is the sovereignty of local communities at the lowest\nlevel, specifically the Fire Care Communities (MPA) and the Dayak\nindigenous peoples. Referring to Ostrom\u2019s design principles, effective\nresource management rules must be overseen by actors who interact\ndirectly with nature every day.<\/p>\n
MPA members should no longer be treated pejoratively as emergency\nfirefighters (\u2018seasonal Supermen\u2019) who are only called when the fire is\nalready raging. Their role should be reconstructed into daily water\nstewards. They are the ones who design customary agreements to regulate\nwater distribution, monitor the moisture levels of the peat dome soil,\nmaintain the function of village canal blocks, and enforce customary\nsocial sanctions against those who disrupt the shared water balance.<\/p>\n
STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS<\/p>\n
Through this tripartite synergy (BRIN providing science, district\ngovernments providing the legal umbrella, and MPA leading daily\nmaintenance), we are moving beyond the classic dichotomy that separates\nhuman culture from nature. This synergy also proves that protecting the\npeat ecosystem does not have to stifle the economic pulse of the\npeople.<\/p>\n
By utilising canal block reservoirs resulting from BRIN\u2019s research\nfor local swamp fishery cultivation, communities gain real economic\nincentives to keep their land wet and hydrated throughout the year. Wet\npeatland means sustainable fish harvests, whereas burnt peat means the\npermanent destruction of their economic future and living space.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the true structural solution to forest fires does not lie\nin the sophistication of aerial firefighting technology or the\ndeployment of thousands of fully armed personnel amidst the haze.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/extinguishing-peat-fires-from-the-ground-up-1788389509", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }