Reckless farming in peatland forests major cause of fires<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The forest fires raging in Kalimantan are a result of a natural
\nphenomenon combined with human recklessness.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has the most extensive area of tropical peat land in
\nthe world, with 27 million hectares scattered throughout West and
\nCentral Kalimantan, Merauke and Nabire in Irian Jaya and along
\nthe east coast of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Peat land is organic soil that has formed for over thousands
\nof years from decomposed vegetation and other life forms and it
\ncan go down as far as seven meters. It contains hydrocarbon,
\nwhich makes it flammable. Once a fire starts there, it is
\ndifficult to put out because the peat content keeps the heat
\nbelow the surface.<\/p>\n
Most of the forests in Kalimantan and Sumatra are peat swamp
\nforests that can easily burn.<\/p>\n
This natural condition has been aggravated by shifting
\ncultivation. People often burn forests and shrubs when opening
\nland up for farming in Kalimantan and Sumatra.<\/p>\n
In 1995, the Soeharto government embarked on an ambitious plan
\nto convert over one million hectares of peat moss land in Central
\nand South Kalimantan into rice-producing areas. The project was
\nbelieved to have caused an escalation in forest fires in recent
\nyears.<\/p>\n
In 1999, forest fires razed 510,177 hectares of forests, of
\nwhich 508,000 hectares or 99 percent were in the province of East
\nKalimantan. The extent of the area devastated by fires was much
\nworse than in 1998, when 300,000 hectares of forest were burned
\nto the ground.<\/p>\n
The indigenous Dayak people in Kalimantan have developed a
\nsystem to prevent fires from spreading while they clear peat land
\nfor farming.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, migrants from Java and other areas outside
\nKalimantan who do not know how to manage peat land, recklessly
\nburn the vegetation there. Oil palm plantation owners also prefer
\nto clear forests by burning the vegetation to keep production
\ncosts low.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, there has been no real effort from the
\ngovernment to educate people in this matter. It is not surprising
\nthat forest fires will continue to be an annual catastrophe for
\nmany years to come.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reckless-farming-in-peatland-forests-major-cause-of-fires-1447893297",
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