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