Long-term solution to forest fires

Long-term solution to forest fires

Since the start of the current forest fires much has been
written about their direct effects to people's health and the
environment. However, nothing was said about long-term solutions
to the fires until an interview with Mr. Neil Byron, Assistant
Director General of the Center for Forestry Research (Expert
calls for long-term solutions to forest fires) was published in
The Jakarta Post on Oct. 8. Mr. Byron stated that in spite of the
fact that El Nio was predicted some time ago, virtually no
precautions were taken to deal with its potential effects.

President Soeharto called for precautions to be taken against
the predicted drought which could cause forest fires when he
spoke during a ceremony to celebrate the "Regreening and National
Nature Conservation Day", in West Kalimantan on Dec. 23, 1996. He
ordered governors and district heads to cooperate to prevent
fires in forests and agricultural land and to implement correct
forest management to ensure that the national demand for wood
would always be met, while at the same time preserving forests.
Apparently nothing happened.

Although Mr. Byron's statement that no precautions were taken
is correct, he does not give an indication what the long-term
solutions he calls for could or should contain.

As a foreign expert working for the European Union financed
Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project under the provincial
forestry office in Palembang, I want to clarify a few matters:

The most common source of wildfire and smoke originates from
ladang (the burning of forests to clear farming areas). It is
practiced by small farmers and large forestry estates alike. In
spite of the fact that burning is a bad habit and should be
limited to the absolute minimum, I have to admit that fire is
still man's cheapest and easiest way of getting rid of unwanted
vegetative matter. The practice will therefore always continue as
long as there are no alternative cheap techniques.

A long-term solution to reduce ladang practiced by small
farmers could be to encourage them to abandon their rotational
system by changing the law on land tenure. Farmers who can claim
title to their land would invest in their land by improving its
quality through farm inputs, which would result in higher yields.
A precondition is that the government should assist these farm
upgrades by improving the socio-economic conditions in rural
areas by providing access to knowledge, farm credit, farm inputs
and markets. The extension of services from the ministries of
agriculture and forestry through training and incentives is
imperative.

Large forestry estates, which need to destroy unwanted
biomass, could improve their operations by making use of portable
incinerators which have been designed and marketed in Malaysia
specially for clearing land.

Moreover, the present system that issues operating permits
(surat ijin) to the large forestry estates which do not have an
Environmental Impact Assessment report, should be amended.
Forestry estates who do possess such a report should be obliged
to put the recommendations of the report into practice.

To facilitate fire fighting, our project is in the process of
establishing a fire early warning system using the data received
by a satellite receiving station in Palembang. The system is
designed to guide well-trained fire fighting organizations on the
ground through efficient radio communications.

Much can be done by the government and private organizations
alike to create an environment and infrastructure in which the
necessity for large scale burning is reduced.

G.P.A. COSIJN

FFPCP Consultant

Palembang, South Sumatra