False accusations?

False accusations?

Forest fires and the dense smoke which they cause happen
almost every year. What is also routine are the accusations that
are hurled at the traditional farmers who practice shifting
agriculture. The reason is that these groups, which usually
consist of local people, do their land clearing by burning. But
are the accusations justified?

It may be useful to consider the research findings of the
Indonesian Secretariat for Cooperation in Forest Conservation
(SKEPHI). According to this non-governmental organization the
acreage of the land burned by these farmers amounts to only 2.1
percent of the total that is destroyed. Agricultural estates must
take the greatest share of the blame (60 percent), industrial
forest estates come next (37 percent). Both of these are mostly
owned by private entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, according to SKEPHI data, forest fires are
concentrated in Lampung (52 percent), followed by Central Java
(17 percent) and East Java (16 percent). Those three provinces
are certainly not places that are inhabited by farmers practicing
shifting agriculture. What does this mean? Simple: The
accusations that those farmers are the culprits must be taken
into doubt. This kind of doubt was also expressed earlier by the
Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo.

One could argue about the SKEPHI data. The fact, however, is
that practitioners of shifting agriculture have been burning
tracts of forests for hundreds of years. Why then, have forest
fires become so much more widespread only during the past five
years? Because the numbers of farmers engaging in the practice
have drastically multiplied? Are they clearing land with
increased aggression? Not likely.

Therefore, it could be that the increase in the numbers and
extent of the forest fires is due to the rapid rise of new land
clearing efforts. At present, 600,000 to one million hectares of
land is cleared each year. To cite data compiled by Prof. Dr.
Herman Haeruman, a forestry expert at the Bogor Agricultural
University (IPB), most of that land is cleared by burning. The
reality is that this is the easiest method to clear land.

Our experiences of the past few years should have taught us to
swiftly prevent such fires. The management of our forests --
especially by concessionaires -- should be improved immediately.
And what is even more important, strict control over the way our
forests are managed must be exerted immediately.

-- Republika, Jakarta