Stop forest fires

Stop forest fires

The state minister of environment has said that 65 percent of
the fires now burning in East Kalimantan are the responsibility
of timber and plantation companies. These fires are illegal. The
rich company owners know it, the public knows it and the
government knows it, as they have given the rules. The fires have
now gone on for a year, and the government has not canceled the
concessions or penalized the concessionaires.

Further, we are told that about 300 people are working daily
on the ground in order to stop the fires. In addition, the
government has deployed two water bombers. This is the total
national input to stop fires which are destroying large areas of
primary rain forest, fires which also cause big economic losses
to the local people and to the nation, but not to the
concessionaires.

Nations and people all over the world are worried because of
the magnitude and the consequences of these huge fires. And only
300 people are engaged to stop the fires. This is the number of
people even a small village would be able to mobilize itself if
its environment were really threatened.

Based on the above information, people can only conclude that
the government, or rather the powerful part of the government, is
not, in reality, interested in stopping the forest fires of East
Kalimantan.

I shall not elaborate on the reasons for this reality, it is
up to the readers to think for themselves.

But the forest fires must be stopped, and this must happen
before the last tree of the rain forest is burned down. I suggest
that an attempt be made to utilize local expertise in fighting
the forest fires.

If we consider who has lit the fires, and are told that 65
percent of the fires are the responsibility of owners of timber
and plantation companies, then these are people coming from
outside Kalimantan.

Concerning the remaining 35 percent, they are lit by what is
called local farmers. These farmers also come from outside
Kalimantan. They are transmigrants from Java and Madura,
frustrated over the poor soil condition in the planned or free
transmigration sites, and, therefore, they are chasing for better
soil.

In addition to the people who lit the fires, there exists a
Dayak population of about three million people, who live in the
forest areas of Kalimantan. They are known as the indigenous
population of the area. These people have, for hundreds of years,
grown rice and vegetables on their ladang in the forest areas,
using shifting cultivation or a slash-and-burn method. Of course,
they have selected the best, most fertile land for their farming.

If they need a new land, they know how to start a fire and
keep it going exactly to the areas they wish to clear. And they
also know how to stop the fires, leaving the rest of the forest
intact.

I would like to suggest that the Dayaks be mobilized to fight
the forest fires, and, thus, they would feel respected. They
should be paid a reasonable wage, provided with boots, gloves and
chain saws in addition to their traditional axes and knives. Five
thousand to 10,000 people should be a reasonable number to do the
job. Why not give them a fair chance to fight the forest fires on
their own land?

ARIF FATHUR RAHMAN

Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan