INTER-AGENCY REPORT ON

INDONESIAN FOREST AND LAND FIRES

AND PROPOSALS FOR RISK REDUCTION
IN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS (HABITAT)

Prepared by
UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS (HABITAT)
With assistance from
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, JAKARTA
UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NAGOYA
and
ASIAN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CENTER, BANGKOK

With the support of the Government of Japan

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication
do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) concerning the legal status of any
country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of
its frontier or boundaries. The views, figures and estimates set forth in this
publication should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carrying
the endorsement of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

This publication has been issued without formal editing. All material of this
publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is requested,
together with a copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint.

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat): Inter-agency Report on

Indonesian Forest and Land Fires and Proposals for Risk Reduction in Human
Settlements

First published in Fukuoka, Japan, June 2000

ISBN 92-1-131459-3
HS/600/00E

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)

Risk and Disaster Management Programme
P.O. Box 30030
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: (254-2) 621234/623051
Fax: (254-2) 626886/624263/623885

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Fukuoka Office

ACROS Fukuoka Building, 8th Floor
1-1-1 Tenjin, Chuo-ku
Fukuoka 810-0001, Japan
Tel: (81-92) 724-7121
Fax: (81-92) 724-7124
CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS v

BAHASA INDONESIA TERMS vii

FOREWORD ix

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

I. INTRODUCTION 13

1.1 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE 13

1.1.1 FORESTRY SECTOR IN INDONESIA 13
1.1.2 ROLE OF FORESTS IN THE INDONESIAN ECONOMY 14
1.1.3 HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE OF FIRES IN INDONESIA 14
1.1.4 FOREST FIRES OF 1997-98 16
1.1.5 CONTINUED RISK OF FOREST FIRE EVENTS IN INDONESIA 20
1.1.6 POSSIBLE IMPACTS ON COMMUNITIES AND HUMAN 21
SETTLEMENTS
1.2 THE CURRENT INITIATIVE 21
1.2.1 THE KEY OBJECTIVES 22

II. FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES 25

2.1 INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND FOREST PROPERTY 25

RIGHTS
2.1.1 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR MANAGING THE 25
FORESTRY SECTOR
2.1.2 CURRENT FOREST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 25
2.1.3 LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE FORESTRY SECTOR 27
2.1.4 FOREST PROPERTY RIGHTS OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS 28
2.2 COMPETITION FOR FOREST RESOURCES 30
2.2.1 FOREST COMMUNITIES 30
2.2.2 THE PRIVATE SECTOR 32
2.2.3 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL FOREST DEPARTMENTS 32

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 CONTENTS

III. FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA 35

3.1 INTRODUCTION 35
3.2 DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA 35
3.2.1 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT 36
3.2.2 PLACE OF FIRE PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION IN THE OVERALL 38
DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
3.3 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR FOREST FIRE PREVENTION 38
3.4 LIMITATIONS IN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR FOREST FIRE 40
PREVENTION
3.4.1 LACK OF FLEXIBILITY 40
3.4.2 UNCLEAR FIRE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 40
3.4.3 IMBALANCE IN COORDINATION ARRANGEMENTS 41
3.4.4 LACK OF UNIFORM FIRE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES AT 41
PROVINCIAL LEVEL

IV. FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN INDONESIA 43

4.1 INTRODUCTION 43
4.2 NATIONAL INITIATIVES 43
4.3 REGIONAL INITIATIVES 44
4.4 INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROJECTS WITHIN INDONESIA 44
4.4.1 FIRE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES STARTED BEFORE 1997 44
4.4.2 FIRE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES STARTED AFTER 1997 45
4.5 TRENDS IN FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS 46

V. UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES 49

5.1 INTRODUCTION 49
5.2 WEAKNESSES IN POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 49
5.2.1 FUNDAMENTAL CONTRADICTION BETWEEN THE AGRARIAN LAW 49
AND BASIC FORESTRY LAW
5.2.2 FOREST UTILIZATION RIGHTS OF CONCESSIONAIRES 50
5.2.3 FOREST UTILIZATION RIGHTS OF COMMUNITIES LIVING IN AND 50
AROUND FOREST AREAS
5.2.4 LACK OF EMPHASIS ON BUILDING MANAGEMENT CAPACITIES 51
AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
5.2.5 LACK OF AN INTEGRATED FOREST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND
INADEQUATE INTER-MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE 51

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 CONTENTS

5.3 LOCAL CONFLICTS 51

5.3.1 CONFLICTS BETWEEN LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND THE PRIVATE 51
SECTOR
5.3.2 CONFLICTS AMONG OTHER STAKEHOLDERS OF FOREST 52
RESOURCES
5.3.3 LACK OF CLEAR LAND USE AND OWNERSHIP RECORDS 52
5.4 INCREASED VULNERABILITY OF A CONTINUALLY DEGRADING 53
FOREST ENVIRONMENT
5.4.1 INCREASED VULNERABILITY OF FORESTS AFTER PREVIOUS FIRE 53
EVENTS
5.4.2 EROSION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF CONTROLLING FIRE 53
5.4.3 CONTINUED LOGGING AND LAND CONVERSION ACTIVITIES AND 54
IMPLICATIONS FOR FOREST VULNERABILITY

VI. STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF 55

FOREST AND LAND FIRES

6.1 INTRODUCTION 55
6.2 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR EACH STAKEHOLDER GROUP 55
6.2.1 LOCAL COMMUNITIES 56
6.2.2 PRIVATE COMPANIES 58
6.2.3 LOCAL NGOS 59
6.2.4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 61
6.2.5 CENTRAL GOVERNMENT 61
6.2.6 INFORMATION DISSEMINATION ON BEST PRACTICES FROM 62
OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

VII. REFERENCES 63

ANNEX I: PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES ON FOREST FIRE 67

MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA
ANNEX II: JARINGAN KERJA PEMETAAN PARTISIPATIF (JKPP) 69
ANNEX III: PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATIONAL CONSULTATION 73
SEMINAR

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ADB Asian Development Bank

ADPC Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
ADTA Advisory Technical Assistance
AMAN Alliance of Adat Communities
BAKORNAS PB National Disaster Management Coordination Board
BAPEDAL Environmental Impact Protection Agency
BAPPENAS National Development Planning Agency
BKNL National Coordination Agency for Fires
BSP Biodiversity Support Program
CGIF-SMCP Consultative Group on Indonesian Forests –
Strengthening the Management Capacities of MoFEC
CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research
EU European Union
FFPCP Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project
FFPMP Forest Fire Prevention and Management Project
GIS geographical information systems
GPS global positioning system
GTZ Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
HPH natural forest concessionaires
HPHTI timber plantation concessionaires
HTTF Haze Technical Task Force
ICRAF International Centre for Research in Agroforestry
IFFMP Integrated Forest Fire Management Project
ITFMP Indonesia-UK Tropical Forest Management
Programme
ITTO-CFC International Tropical Timber Organization – Common
Fund for Commodities
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
JKPP Jaringan Kerja Pemetaan Partisipatif
LATIN Lembaga Alam Tropika Indonesia
MoFEC Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops
NHAP National Haze Action Plan
NOAA-AVHRR National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(USA) – Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
PARTS Program to Address Regional Transboundary Smoke

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 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

PB penanggulangan bencana (disaster management)

PHPA Direktorat Jenderal Perlindungan Hutan dan Pelestarian
Alam (Directorate General for Forest Protection and
Nature Conservation
RETA Regional Technical Assistance
RHAP Regional Haze Action Plan
Rp. rupiah
RTRWP Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah Propinsi
SATKORLAK PB provincial disaster management task force
SATLAK PB district disaster management task force
SRFA Sub-regional Fire Fighting Arrangements
TKPKL Tim Koordinasi Pengendalian Kebakaran Lahan
(Coordinating Team for Management of Fires)
UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat)
UNCRD United Nations Centre for Regional Development
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
USAID United States Agency for International Development
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WWF World Wildlife Fund

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BAHASA INDONESIA TERMS

adat customary
adat kepala customary community head
alang alang Imperata cylindrica grass
bupati district head
camat sub-district head
dinas head (technical)
gubernur governor
hak ulayat customary right
hutan kemasyarakatan societal or communal forest
kanwil head (administrative)
keppres presidential decree
keputusan menteri ministerial decree
kongres masyarakat adat nusantara congress on indigenous community
institutions
masyarakat hukum adat customary law community
peladang berpindah shifting cultivators
penanggulangan bencana disaster management
perambah hutan forest dwellers
peraturan pemerintah state regulation
propinsi province
rembuk discuss
rencana tata ruang wilayah propinsi provincial spatial planning
satpam patrol and protection
undang-undang basic law

vii
FOREWORD
Forest fires in Indonesia are continuing a pattern of annual destruction that must be dealt
with from many directions. Human settlements is one of these. This report holds special
interest for me. Being the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements (Habitat), I have made it one of my priorities to do all that we can to prevent
and mitigate the effects of natural and human made disasters on human settlements,
including forest and land fires.

The extent of the damage caused by fires in

Indonesia in pure material terms has been massive.
For a country recovering from a severe economic
crisis this is an unacceptably high loss of
resources. There are currently several initiatives at
the national, regional and international levels to
address the issues related to the damage caused by
forest fires and the associated haze. However, the
majority of these efforts have been response
orientated and aiming at the combating and control
of fires. Few initiatives are focused upon the root
causes of forest fires and their mitigation.
Although forest and land fires are considered a
natural phenomenon in Indonesia, I do not
consider this to be entirely accurate. Natural
causes alone cannot explain the steady escalation
of fires and their effects on settlements in the
affected areas. Recent experience suggests that
human actions cause many of the fire problems
that face Indonesia. Perhaps it is not too bold to
suggest that economic and social factors are at the
root of many fires.

There seem to be four main reasons for the increase in forest fires recently. The one most
talked about is the El Nino and its impact on local climate conditions. But from our
perspective there are three other causes that we believe have a strong effect on the start and
multiplication of forest fires in Indonesia. The first issue is the influx of transmigrants from
other parts of Indonesia to areas of low population density and dense cover forest. The new
populations require land to be cleared so that food may be grown to feed the expanded
population. The issue is the type of farming carried out. Slash and burn as well a clearing
for permanent farms can be tolerated so long as it is done on a subsistence manner.
However, inappropriate burning methods can quickly cause the fire to get out of control and
spread. The second issue relates to the growing number of plantations in Indonesia, which
have resulted in the wide spread clearing of forests. This has made the plantations itself and
the surrounding forests more vulnerable to fire. The third issue refers to the competition for
land and forest resources leading to conflict and the generation and spread of fires. Recent
studies have shown that fire has become a weapon used against competing groups. Equally,
indigenous peoples who often fought fires whenever they occurred no longer feel they
should, as they believe that the land taken from them does not need anymore their active
protection.

ix
Indonesia is faced with a great task to overcome the challenge caused by forest and land
fires. To date it seems that not enough has been done in the area of prevention and in
bringing all stakeholders into the fire prevention and mitigation process. The present report
highlights a number of possible actions as, the development of participatory community
mapping, documenting traditional ways of controlled burning, establishing dialogues
between the relevant stakeholders, public education and training in traditional fire-fighting
and legal advice to local communities. It is hoped that this report is a beginning to the
implementation of a number of these recommendations.

Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka

Executive Director
United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements (Habitat)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Introduction

The 1997-98 forest and land fires in Indonesia were among the most severe
in the last two decades. In the aftermath of these fires, a number of initiatives
were undertaken to assess the extent of damage, understand the causes, and
evolve strategies to establish effective fire management systems to prevent
the recurrence of such large-scale fires. According to the ADB-funded report
entitled “Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management Project”
and published in April 1999, the initial estimate of areas burnt was 9.7
million hectares. The study estimated that the economic cost of the 1997-98
fires was in the range of US$ 8.8 to 9.7 billion. A comparison of the
principal causes of fires from 1982-83 to 1997-98 indicates a shift from the
point where major land clearing activities contributed a minor amount to the
areas burnt, to a point where much of the burning is attributed to land
conversion activities.
Many of the economic and socio-political causes of the 1997-98 fires
still prevail. In addition to the immediate causes of the fires, the vulnerability
of Indonesian forests is linked to more fundamental issues of forest
management and the role of communities and local governments. There is
little attention paid to the existence of different types of communities living
in and around the forests, including those that are vulnerable to fire. Most of
these communities are dependent on agriculture and forest use, mainly in a
combination of shifting cultivation for food crops and perennial gardens,
along with hunting, fishing and forest product gathering. For indigenous
communities, customary law governs the use of forest resources. Because of
close interaction between these communities and the forests, the impact of
large-scale forest fires on them has been significant. In the past, these
impacts have included inadequate food supply as a result of destruction of
crops adjoining the fire-affected forests, inadequate availability of wood and
building materials, lack of other forest products gathered or used by
villagers, and impacts on cash earnings or paid work.
Over the last two decades, the competition for forest resources has
increased, and consequently, indigenous forest communities find themselves
in conflict with logging concessionaires and industrial plantation owners.
The rights and privileges of concessionaires and owners often ignore the

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

forest resource use practices of local communities. The conflict between the
indigenous communities who are the traditional land users and these new
users has been cited as one of the causes of the 1997-98 fires. The situation
becomes even more complex as one takes into account other communities,
such as spontaneous settlers and transmigration villagers who have different
relationships with forests, and whose pattern of forest use is different from
that of indigenous communities.
The current initiative complements on-going efforts at improving
forest fire management systems and recognizes the need to look at the issues
of forest fires in relation to communities and human settlements. This
initiative, led by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
and supported by the Government of Japan, began with an inter-agency
mission to Indonesia in June 1999. The mission included experts from
UNCHS (Habitat), UNCRD, UNDP and ADPC. The key objectives of this
initiative are to:

• understand the effects of forest fires on communities, and at the same

time, to assess community actions as causal factors in forest fires;
• understand the discord between local and national interests as they relate
to forest fire management in Indonesia; and
• explore opportunities for community involvement in forest fire
prevention, monitoring and suppression vis-à-vis other stakeholders
within the changing legislative and political context in Indonesia.

The draft report of this initiative was presented at a National

Consultation Seminar on “Forest Fires and Human Settlements” organized
by the Ministry of Human Settlements in collaboration with UNCHS
(Habitat) in Jakarta, Indonesia on 7-8 October 1999. Experts from ADPC,
UNCRD, UNDP Jakarta, national and international NGOs working on forest
fire issues and more than 50 senior level representatives from Indonesian
government agencies attended the Seminar1. The recommendations made at
the Seminar have been incorporated in the present report.

2. Forest Fires, Human Settlements and Communities

The forests in Indonesia are managed by the Ministry of Forestry and Estate
Crops (MoFEC) which comprises an Inspectorate and Secretariat General,
two centres for education and training, an agency for research and
development, and four operational Directorate Generals. Within MoFEC,
forest fire issues are handled by a sub-directorate under the Directorate of
Forest Protection and Nature Conservation.
1
Annex III contains a list of participants in the National Consultation Seminar.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There are eight basic laws (undang-undang) that govern the

management of forest estates, and one basic law on cultivation, that have
important implications for the estate sector. The most fundamental problem
in the legislation is the contradiction between the Agrarian Law of 1960 (No.
5/1960) and the Basic Forestry Law of 1967 (No. 5/1967). While the
Agrarian Law recognizes the customary rights of people, the Basic Forestry
Law does not. This contradiction in the legislation poses serious limitations
on community involvement in forest fire prevention. Based on the principles
laid out in the eight basic laws, a number of government decrees and
regulations have been issued at different times and levels. The
implementation of these numerous decrees and regulations has been weak.
At the time of preparation of this report, two important new laws had
recently been enacted, the Local Government Autonomy Law (No. 22/1999
enacted on 7 May 1999) and the Forestry Law (No. 41/1999 enacted on 30
September 1999). However, until the completion of this report, the actual
implementation of these laws was still being discussed. Their
implementation in due course will have important implications for this
report’s recommendations.
The regulations defining the role of communities in the management
of forests are, in general, extremely unfavourable to forest communities,
severely restricting their use of timber and limiting their access to other
forest products. They also do not differentiate between indigenous
communities (long-established forest dwellers), transmigrants and
spontaneous settlers. All forest communities are labelled as shifting
cultivators (peladang berpindah) who destroy the forests and disturb nature’s
balance. These regulations are the main target of the on-going reform
process.
The utilization rights of natural forest concessionaires (HPH), as well
as timber plantation concessionaires (HPHTI), have been established by a
series of decrees based on the legal principles provided by the Basic Forestry
Law. The management of land clearance by industrial plantations is guided
by these rights of utilization. One of the most recent regulations, applicable
to new concessions and to HPH and HPHTI concessionaires who wish to
convert a portion of their holdings to plantation, is a ministerial decree
(Keputusan Menteri No. 782/Kpts-II/1998) that limits the sizes of different
kinds of concessions. This regulation represents a policy initiative that aims
at providing greater opportunities to medium-sized enterprises. However, in
its implementation, it may lead to excessive exploitation in pre-existing large
concessions.
Over the past few decades, a range of new stakeholders in
Indonesia’s forests have been introduced. Whereas in the past, the forests
were inhabited only by local ethnic groups (for example, Dayak and Kutai in
East Kalimantan), new stakeholders have emerged: logging companies,

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

various kinds of cash crop plantations (oil palm, coconut, cacao, rubber), and
conservation agencies. At the same time, some forest areas have undergone
significant demographic changes over the past two decades due to the influx
of spontaneous settlers and transmigrants. The informal resource use
agreements that evolved over centuries among the indigenous people are no
longer applicable. This has led to conflicts between and among some of the
key stakeholders: indigenous forest communities, spontaneous settlers,
official transmigrants and private companies.

3. Forest Fire Management in Indonesia

Until recently, the National Disaster Management Coordination Board

(BAKORNAS PB), which has a representation of various departments and
ministries, did not have any representation from either MoFEC or
BAPEDAL. Both agencies are now represented on the Board of
BAKORNAS PB wherein MoFEC deals with fire suppression issues and
BAPEDAL represents concerns related to public education, awareness
generation and policy reform. Although this indicates some recent
streamlining of fire prevention and suppression functions at the national
level, it is not likely to translate automatically into better fire prevention and
suppression at the local level. There are several limitations in the regulatory
framework governing fire management in Indonesia: lack of flexibility,
unclear fire management structure, imbalance in coordination arrangements,
and lack of uniform fire management structures at provincial level.
The numerous decrees that regulate fire prevention seem to assume
that it can be managed and directed by a detailed set of rules and procedures.
These “fixed” procedures take little account of the confusion that occurs in
most serious fires and the need for rapid responses at the local level with a
great deal of improvization.
The structure that emerges from the numerous regulations is
enormously complex. All three main agencies (BAKORNAS PB, MoFEC,
BAPEDAL) have a command line drawn through their structures to the field
level, where practical suppression activity is carried out. On the way down,
there are numerous cross-links at sectoral, provincial, regional and local
levels of the agencies involved and key people such as governors and
SATLAK heads, until ultimately there is a competition between agencies for
the services of fire-fighters. The existence of two fire management agencies
within the Ministry of Forestry (National Center for Forest Fire
Management) and within BAPEDAL (National Center for Forest Fire
Management), and their mutual mandates to form units down to the local
level, offer considerable potential for confusion and rivalry in actual on-
going fire management.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Fire prevention issues seem to have been given a higher importance

in the Ministry of Environment by the establishment of a Directorate for
Forest Fires (SK President No. 196/1998). In the Ministry of Forestry,
however, forest fires are still managed at sub-directorate level under the
Directorate of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation. This creates an
imbalance in coordinating agencies.
Given the nature of the national ministerial decrees that govern forest
fire prevention in Indonesia, especially those mandating different agencies,
units or centres, the various provinces have responded at different times and
in different ways to create their own local organizations. There is no
uniformity of structures for fire-fighting at the provincial level.

4. Forest Fire Management Projects in Indonesia

Since 1982-83 a number of extreme forest fire events in Indonesia have

caught international attention. In response, a range of national, regional and
international agencies have initiated a number of projects and programmes
focusing on various aspects of forest fire management. Prior to 1994, such
projects addressed issues of fire prevention and control. After the 1994 fire,
which created transboundary pollution, there was greater interest in
understanding the causes and impacts of the fires. In the aftermath of the
unprecedented fires of 1997-98, a number of new projects were started.
These projects, along with those started before the 1997-98 fires, exhibit
significant overlap among objectives, activities, inputs and outputs. Their
effectiveness can be significantly increased by a good coordinating
mechanism that can enhance cooperation, sharing of information and
expertise, and dissemination of project results.
In general, the new generation fire related projects seem to place
more emphasis on remote sensing technology for monitoring and prediction,
compared to practical pre-suppression and suppression activities. These
projects need to be complemented with community-based forest fire
prevention and mitigation programmes that emphasize local-level capacity
building, public education and awareness generation. A number of projects
that were started before 1997 have recognized this and have now
incorporated community-based approaches into their programmes. Over the
past few years a number of national NGOs working at community level have
also been providing support to address the problem of forest fires and haze.

5. Underlying Causes of Forest and Land Fires

The causes of the 1997-98 forest fires in Indonesia can be broadly divided
into three distinct but inter-related categories: weaknesses in policy and

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

regulatory framework, local conflicts, and increased vulnerability of a

continually degrading forest environment.

Weaknesses in the policy and regulatory framework include:

• the fundamental contradiction between the Agrarian Law and the Basic
Forestry Law, wherein the latter does not recognize the customary rights
of communities living in and around the forests;
• the inappropriate forest utilization rights of concessionaires;
• the inadequate forest utilization rights of communities living in and
around forest areas;
• lack of emphasis on building management capacities at the local level;
• lack of an integrated forest management system; and
• inadequate inter-ministerial dialogue.

Many studies undertaken at the local level have indicated that conflict
between local communities and the private sector was one of the causes of
the 1997-98 fires. Forest communities often feel that their customary rights
of forest utilization are taken over and they retaliate by burning the trees
planted by the plantation companies. The limited utilization rights of forest
communities have also made them indifferent and has discouraged their
participation in fire suppression. The conflicts over forest property rights are
between a number of groups: local communities, local communities and
government, local communities and migrants, local residents and private
companies, and private companies. Lack of clear land use and ownership
records have made it difficult to resolve such conflicts.
There is a consensus among experts that the past fires have increased
the vulnerability of the forests in Indonesia to fires. In the absence of an
integrated rehabilitation programme after previous fires, large tracts of forest
land now have been covered with highly combustible biomass. Large-scale
logging and disturbance to the primary forests have also contributed
significantly to increased vulnerability. In such a situation, local
communities’ traditional mechanisms for dealing with fire that worked well
in humid tropical rain forests are inadequate.

6. Strategic Action Areas for the Prevention of Forest and Land Fires

The following strategic action areas represent some of the possible areas of
intervention for long-term forest and land fire prevention. In line with the
focus of this study, these strategies promte the role of communities in forest
fire prevention.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Strategic Action Areas for Local Communities

• Participatory Community Mapping and Documentation of Traditional

Resource Management Practices

Participatory community mapping is a tool that can help communities

document and assert their rights and privileges, and gain full benefit from
the on-going reform process, which will decentralize governance and
devolve decision-making to the local level. Community mapping,
complemented with documentation of traditional local resource
management systems, can be used as a tool to resolve land boundary and
resource management conflicts between and among different
communities as well as outsiders.

• Documenting Traditional Ways of Controlled Burning

Documentation of traditional (controlled and safe) ways of burning and

associated resource management practices will be useful in reinforcing
forest fire prevention initiatives at the local level. This can be a valuable
input to public education and awareness-generation programmes on
forest fire prevention by targeting local communities, local government
and workers of private companies.

• Establishing Dialogue between Private Companies, Local Governments

and Local Forestry Departments

Local communities in Indonesia have a tradition of periodically coming

together to discuss (rembuk) issues of common concern. This tradition
can be a starting point to establish mechanisms for continuous dialogue
(and conflict resolution) between various stakeholders at the local level.

• Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

The above-mentioned three strategies need to be supported by extensive

public education and awareness-generation programmes on forest fire
prevention issues within the broader context of sustainable forest
resource management at the local level. The public education needs of
different community groups (such as transmigrants, spontaneous settlers
and indigenous people) and their socio-cultural and economic
backgrounds should be taken into account when designing public
awareness programmes.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Training and Equipment for Local Fire Suppression

Training in local fire suppression in accordance with formally established

standards, provision of basic and simple fire-fighting equipment at local
community level, and the setting up of systems for local fire intelligence
and its rapid transmission will go a long way in strengthening fire
management efforts.

• Legal Advice to Communities through NGOs, Local Governments and

Professional Groups

Within the context of the current decentralization process in Indonesia,

mechanisms to provide legal advice to local communities regarding their
forest resources rights and privileges can be extremely helpful. Local
NGOs, local governments and professional groups could be involved in
steering such a process.

Strategic Action Areas for Private Companies

• Establishing Dialogue with Local Communities

Establishing a regular dialogue with local communities will help private

companies in understanding communities’ concerns regarding the
management of forests. This will help reduce conflicts between the
private companies and local communities and increase responsibilities of
joint (and complementary) resource management of forests.

• Capacity-Building for Fire Prevention and Suppression at the Plantation

Level

Private companies will benefit greatly from assistance in capacity-

building of their mandatory “patrol and protection unit” (Satpam PH) for
fire prevention and suppression.

• Advice on Community Rights in Potential Concession Areas

The private concessionaires can be advised, well in advance, of the rights

of the communities in their potential concession areas. This will help
minimize the cases where the concessionaires take hold of a new
concession without the knowledge of communities living in and around
the area.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

The management practices of private companies can be improved by

extensive public education and awareness-generation programmes
tailored to their needs. Such programmes should convey information on
the longer-term economic and environmental benefits of sustainable
practices.

Strategic Action Areas for Local NGOs

• Training of Trainers in Participatory Community Mapping

The capacity of local NGOs can be enhanced through the training of

trainers in techniques of participatory community mapping and
documentation of community-based resource management systems.
Local NGOs may also be assisted in building their capacity to formalize
and redraft these maps into a standard format and assist communities in
seeking formal recognition from the local government. Local NGOs
should also be able to assist local communities appropriately in
negotiating a co-management scheme with local governments and private
companies.

• Non-formal Education on Legal Aspects of Forest Management and

Local Governance Laws

NGO workers may be educated on the existing and emerging legal

aspects of forest management and local governance laws and their
implications. Such education will help them play an effective facilitating
role in reducing conflicts between local communities and private
companies, and exploring possibilities for joint forest resource
management.

• Training in Conflict Resolution

Training in modern conflict resolution techniques will greatly enhance

the capacities of local NGOs to facilitate dialogue among the various
stakeholders in forest resource management.

• Networking with other NGOs

Several NGOs across Indonesia have been working on techniques of

participatory community mapping and documentation of community-

9
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

based resource management systems and their application in conflict

resolution. A lot can be learned from the experience of these on-going
initiatives. Local NGOs can benefit greatly from networking with other
NGOs and capitalizing on their experiences.

• Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

Local NGOs should not only be a vehicle for public education and
awareness-generation programmes but also a target of some of these
programmes to build their capacity in promoting sustainable forest
resource management practices.

Strategic Action Areas for Local Government

• Capacity-building for Local Level Planning

The current reform process is likely to devolve authority to the local

level. In such a context, capacity-building of local governments in local
level planning will be extremely important. This planning will include
provincial level integrated land use planning. Studies have emphasized
the need to develop “provincial spatial planning” (Rencana Tata Ruang
Wilayah Propinsi, RTRWP). Within the framework of RTRWP, there is a
need to develop “provincial fire prevention and suppression plans”. The
capacity for such planning needs to be developed at the provincial level
so that these plans reflect the distinctive needs and characteristics of the
province.

• Training on Emerging Legislative and Regulatory Framework

The national level reform process needs to be complemented with

provincial level training on the emerging legislative and regulatory
framework, and its implications for the functioning of local government.

• Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

Local governments should participate in public education and awareness-

generation programmes dealing with forest fire prevention issues and
sustainable forest resource management practices.

10
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Strategic Action Areas for Central Government

A detailed review of the process by which forest concessions are issued at

the central government level will be helpful. It should examine whether the
location of communities is taken into account while issuing forest
concessions and whether private concessionaires are informed about the
rights and privileges of communities living in and around their concession
areas.

11
I. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and Rationale

1.1.1 Forestry Sector in Indonesia

Indonesia ranks third, after Brazil and Zaire, in its endowment of tropical
rainforests, possessing 10% of what remains of this resource globally. The
approximate distribution of forest cover is: Kalimantan (32% of the total),
Irian Jaya (30%), Sumatra (21%), Sulawesi (10%), Maluku (5%) and other
(2%) (World Bank, 1990). Spread over about 144 million ha, the area under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops (MoFEC)
accounts for nearly 75% of the entire land base of the country.
Based on an analysis of 1990 estimates of the standing stock of
important timber species in the natural forests, the ranked distribution of
hardwoods by major provincial holders was: Kalimantan (47%), Irian Jaya
(21%), Sumatra (17%), Sulawesi (11%) and Maluku (4%). Similarly for
softwoods, the distribution was Kalimantan (51%), Irian Jaya (18%),
Sumatra (17%), Sulawesi (10%) and Maluku (4%). In summary, one-half to
three-quarters of the forest resources of Indonesia are in Kalimantan and
Irian Jaya.
The recent development process has placed increasing demands on
the outer islands where most of Indonesia’s forest and land resources are
located. These closed canopy forests account for over half of all forested area
in Southeast Asia, and more than 95% of the forests of Indonesia. They serve
both productive and protective roles in the country. Yet in the 1980s,
programmes were sponsored by the government to put massive tracts of land
into production, promoting a rapid growth in local land use and the
exploitation of timber and other forest products. The result has been a sharp
increase in the rate of deforestation and uneven land use (World Bank,
1990). Over the last few decades, the industrial policy has been such that
large numbers of sawmills and pulp mills have been established, whose
timber requirements exceed the capacity for sustainable forest utilization in
the areas where they are located (ADB, 1999).1

1
Also based on discussions with forestry experts at CGIF-SMCP.

13
 INTRODUCTION

In the last two years, the unfolding economic crisis has led to
profound changes affecting the forest sector and land use in general. A
complex interplay of market demand, wood supply and fluctuating prices
governs the state of the commercial timber sector. Depressed markets in
early 1998 had led to a situation of near-bankruptcy in the wood processing
industry. However, regional demand for Indonesian wood is now expected to
surge following a Chinese policy to severely restrict logging. In the
aftermath of the 1997-98 fires, the likely result will be increased damage in
production forests and unauthorized logging in protection forests.
The conversion of forest land to agriculture also poses a threat to
natural forest cover and forest-dependent peoples. Earnings from oil palm
plantations, cocoa and coffee on newly cultivated land are high because of
low production costs and high international prices. Indonesia is the world’s
second largest producer of natural rubber and palm oil, the third largest
producer of coffee, and fourth largest producer of cocoa. Such plantations
may only be established on lands designated for conversion to agriculture.
There is a natural temptation in such circumstances to burn degraded
production forests, where the potential for earnings is low, in order to force a
reclassification to conversion forest. This is leading to pressure on the
regulatory authorities, notably the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops.

1.1.2 Role of Forests in the Indonesian Economy

Commercial exploitation of forests has grown rapidly in the last 30 years and
Indonesia is now one of the world leaders in the export of tropical timber. By
1996, some 445 logging concessions were operating on 54 million ha of
forest land, of which close to 1 million are estimated to be logged annually.
This is more than the total area logged in all other Southeast Asian countries
combined. In 1994, wood and wood products produced about US$ 5.5 billion
in export revenue for Indonesia, representing about 15% of total foreign
earnings and employing 700,000 people (Sunderlin and Resosudarmo, 1996).

1.1.3 Historical Experience of Fires in Indonesia

Fires of varying magnitude have been a common occurrence in Indonesian

forests for a long time. A damaging fire season seems to occur in Indonesia
with every exceptionally dry climate episode resulting from El Niño. The
most recent major events occurred in 1982-83, 1987, 1991, 1994 and 1997-
98. The following sub-sections present a summary of causes and effects of
large-scale fires during the last two decades.

14
 INTRODUCTION

1982-83 Fires

In 1982-83, most of the forest fires were concentrated in Kalimantan,

affecting over 3 million ha. The type of vegetation affected included primary
forest (23% of the affected area), logged forest (40%), secondary forest and
shifting cultivation (21%) and peat swamp forest (16%).
The primary cause of these fires was said to be small agricultural
fires. One study indicated that only 11% of the undisturbed forest was burnt,
whereas 58% of mildly disturbed forest area was affected. Within the
moderately disturbed and heavily disturbed forest areas, 84 and 88%
respectively were affected. This indicates that the fires were closely
interlinked with the level of disturbance from human activity such as logging
and agricultural burning by subsistence farmers.

1987 Fires

The extent of the 1987 fires was considerably less than in 1982-83, and their
impact considerably lower. However, many parts of Indonesia were affected,
including Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Bali, Nusa Tenggara and Timor.
According to official MoFEC estimates, at least 66,000 ha of forest burnt in
this year. Most of the 1987 fire activity was blamed on shifting cultivators. It
was also reported that coal seams had ignited fires in plantations and
conservation areas, particularly in the Bukit Soeharto Forest Reserve.
Counter to MoFEC claims that shifting cultivators were responsible, some
environmental groups laid blame on poorly managed forest concessions.

1991 Fires

Widespread fires occurred in 1991, affecting Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi,

Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara. Official estimates placed the area burnt at
500,000 ha. Smoke haze caused major transport problems that affected both
health and tourism. Many domestic flights were cancelled due to poor
visibility, resulting in estimated losses to airline operators of US$ 3.2
million. Estimates by MoFEC of timber losses and forest damage amounted
to US$ 86 million.
Fire causes were attributed to land clearing activities, irresponsible
activities of major companies establishing plantations, and shifting
cultivators. One study recorded that, in East Kalimantan, much of the area
burnt was secondary forest with alang alang grasses (Imperata cylindrica).

15
 INTRODUCTION

1994 Fires

The 1994 fire season again saw large areas of Indonesia affected by fire as
once more the country was gripped by drought. The provinces of Sumatra
and Kalimantan were the most affected by fire and the resultant smoke haze
occurred over Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah-Sarawak, in
addition to Kalimantan and Sumatra. Visibility was reduced to less than 500
metres in Singapore by the end of September 1994. Such poor visibility
caused disruption to air traffic with flow-on effects on tourism. The majority
of fires occurred in the forest-agricultural land interface, rather than in large
expanses of forest. Peat swamp forests were particularly susceptible, burning
for lengthy periods and generating much smoke. MoFEC established the
official figure of forests burnt as 4.9 million ha including farmland (57.5%),
shifting cultivation (30.8%), transmigration (6.2%), plantation (4.5%),
reforestation (0.4%), timber estates (0.45) and natural forest (0.2%). Timber
related losses were estimated by MoFEC at US$ 15.4 million. A subsequent
statement by the Minister for Forestry suggested that the Government of
Indonesia had suffered US$ 23,000 in losses due to smoke and fires.
Causes were attributed to “nomadic tribes” undertaking slash and
burn practices, and timber and plantation concessionaires. The Minister for
Forestry stated that arson might have been behind some fires in Kalimantan
and Sumatra due to tensions between local people and concessionaires and
plantation owners. These fires were the first occasion in which agriculture
rated a significant mention in burnt area figures. In this instance, 58% of the
total area listed as burnt was on agricultural land. What is not clear is
whether this area was burnt by uncontrolled wildfire, or whether it was
merely caused by the routine disposal of agricultural by-products that is
widely practiced in Indonesia.
While the most recent 1997-98 fires are discussed in detail in the
following chapters of this report, Table 1.1 presents a comparison of areas
burnt in the above-mentioned fires and their causal factors.

1.1.4 Forest Fires of 1997-98

The 1997-98 forest and land fires in Indonesia were among the most severe
in the last two decades. The estimates of areas burnt in forest and other land
fires during 1997-98 produced by different agencies range from several
hundred thousand to many million hectare. The unavailability of accurate
land-use maps, time lag in undertaking the assessment, and difficulties in
differentiating the planned and legal fires from the catastrophic fires, add to
the complexity of damage assessment.

16
 INTRODUCTION

Table 1.1: Extent of area burnt and reported causes of forest fires
(1982-83 to 1997-98)

Fire Season Area Burnt (ha) Principal Causes

1982-83 3,200,00 Smallholders, subsistence farmers, pepper

clearing, land speculators

1987 66,000 Shifting cultivators, coal seams

1991 500,000 Carelessness, land clearing by major companies,

shifting agriculture

1994 4,865,500 90% attributed to slash and burn agriculture and

farming, 8% attributed to forest conversion,
plantations and transmigrants

1997-98 9,500,000 Burning for land conversion purposes for large-

(provisional) scale commercial crops
Smallholders and transmigrants utilizing
traditional agricultural techniques
Burning by forest concessionaires
Agricultural burning
Deliberate ignitions as a protest by traditional
forest dwellers against loss of land (large-scale
operations) or social jealousies caused by new
arrivals (small area landholders) utilizing land
previously used by long-term residents

Carelessness

Source: ADB (1999)

According to the ADB-funded report entitled “Planning for Fire

Prevention and Drought Management Project” (hereinafter referred to as
ADB, 1999), initial estimates of areas burnt (in hectare) are Sumatra (1.7
million), Kalimantan (6.5 million), Java (0.1 million), Sulawesi (0.4 million)
and Irian Jaya (1 million). The estimates of areas burnt (in hectare) by forest
type and land use categories are montane forest (0.1 million), lowland forest
(3.3 million), peat and swamp forest (1.5 million), agricultural land, dry
scrub and grassland (4.5 million), and timber plantation and estate crops (0.3
million). The area burnt in 1997-98 was 9.7 million hectare as detailed in
Table 1.2.

17
 INTRODUCTION

Table 1.2: Estimated extent of spatial damage by fire in 1997-98 (‘000 ha)

Lowland Forest

Dry Scrub and

Swamp Forest

Estate Crops
Agricultural

Plantation
Grassland
Montane

Peat and

Timber
Forest

Land

Total
Island

Kalimantan 2,375 750 2,830 375 116 55 6,501

Sumatra 380 300 670 260 70 60 1,740
Java 25 50 25 100
Sulawesi 200 200 1 401
Irian Jaya 100 300 400 100 100 3 1,003
Total 100 3,280 1,450 3,850 760 186 119 9,745
Source: ADB (1999)

One of the major effects of the 1997-98 fires that caught international
attention was the occurrence of transboundary haze. Fires in peat soil areas
and cleared conversion forests were identified as major contributors to
smoke and haze production. In 1997-98, the fires in Indonesia contributed
22% of the world’s carbon dioxide production. Over 700 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere from the burning of peat
(fossil fuel), thus elevating Indonesia to one of the largest carbon polluters in
the world.
The socio-economic impacts of these fires were significant. ADB
(1999) conducted primary source research on the socio-economic impacts of
the 1997-98 fires in two provinces, East Kalimantan and Riau. The study
estimates that the average loss for each community household member was
US$ 1713. Due to the drought conditions induced by El Niño, rice
production in Indonesia decreased (beyond normal variability of 51 million
tons) by 2.6 million tonnes in 1997 and 7.0 million tonnes in 1998. The
country had to import rice to maintain food security. The decreased
production of rice and other agricultural crops, coupled with decreased
access to forest products, is likely to have impacted the quality of life of
people living in forest areas.
Building on earlier attempts to value the economic costs of the 1997
fires, ADB (1999) estimates the economic cost of the 1997-98 fires to be in
the range of US$ 8.8 and 9.7 billion. A summary of the economic cost
estimated by this study is presented in Table 1.3.
A comparison of the principal causes of fires from 1982-83 to 1997-
98 indicates a shift from the point where major land clearing activities
contributed a minor amount to the areas burnt, to a point where much of the
burning is attributed to land conversion activities. During the 1997-98 fire
events, some communities living around the forests tried to prevent fires

18
 INTRODUCTION

from expanding. In communities living in and around the large company-

owned forest concessions, industrial forest plantations and estate crop
plantations, it was observed that there was a tendency to behave carelessly
and allow fire to enter easily. A detailed description of the causes of the
1997-98 fires is presented in chapter V.

Table 1.3: Summary of the economic cost of the 1997-98 fires and drought

Estimated Economic Losses

Sector (US$ million)

Minimum Maximum Mean

Agriculture
Farm crops 2,431 2,431 2,431
Plantation crops 319 319 319

Forestry
Timber from natural forest 1,461 2,165 1,813
(logged and unlogged)
Lost growth in natural forest 256 377 316
Timber from plantations 94 94 94
Non-timber forest products 586 586 586
Flood protection 404 404 404
Erosion and siltation 1,586 1,586 1,586
Carbon sink 1,446 1,446 1,446

Health 145 145 145

Transmigration and buildings and 1 1 1
property
Transportation 18 49 33
Tourism 111 111 111
Fire-fighting 12 11 12

Total 8,870 9,725 9,297

Source: ADB (1999)

The 1997-98 fires and the resulting transboundary haze caught world-
wide attention. Besides Indonesia, a number of Southeast Asian countries, in
particular Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore, were badly affected
by smoke haze caused by forest and land fires. The Philippines and Thailand
were also affected although to a lesser degree. The severity and extent of the
smoke haze pollution was unprecedented, affecting millions of people across
the region. Much international support was mobilized to suppress the fires.
This experience brought into focus the enormity of the problem and the

19
 INTRODUCTION

ASEAN Environment Ministers agreed on a Regional Haze Action Plan

(RHAP), which sets out cooperative measures needed among ASEAN
member countries to address the problem of smoke haze arising from forest
and land fires in the region.

1.1.5 Continued Risk of Forest Fire Events in Indonesia

It has been scientifically demonstrated that fire has been part of the natural
ecosystem in Indonesia for many thousands of years, and burning coal seams
have also been part of the landscape (ADB, 1999: Annex 2, Working Paper
1). However, it is clear that fire, as a part of human action, has not previously
been linked to the environment with the same vigour evident in the last two
decades. As population levels have increased and shifted, there has been a
rapid change in land use and this has brought with it a different application
of what has been a strong rural fire use culture.
Although the 1997-98 fires have provoked a number of initiatives to
establish effective fire management systems, implementation of the strategies
identified by these initiatives will require significant political will and
concerted efforts by a range of government agencies at all levels, NGOs and
international organizations. Many of the economic and socio-political causes
of the 1997-98 fires still prevail. One of the main causes of fires is the
opening up of large tracts to logging and substantial land use conversions to
industrial plantations, estate plantations and agricultural pursuits. Such
activities still continue on a fairly large scale. An ADB-funded BAPPENAS
study points out that although primary undisturbed forest is inherently fire
resistant and naturally subjected to incursion by fire at long intervals, the
disturbance caused by human activities or previous fires can significantly
increase the forest’s vulnerability to fires. The report points out that over the
last two decades, Indonesia has experienced significant instances of fire,
most of them coincident with the opening up of large tracts to logging and
land conversion. Even after the 1997-98 fires, little change is evident in these
practices. The closed canopy forest disturbed by the 1997-98 fires has
experienced significant growth of biomass, which could act as fuel during
recurring drought conditions. These factors, combined with a regular return
of El Niño events (and associated drought conditions), indicate that the
possibility of large-scale fires in the coming years remains high.
The vulnerability of Indonesian forests is also linked to more
fundamental issues of forest management and the role of communities and
local governments. There is little attention given to the existence of local
communities living close to the forest, including those that are vulnerable to
fire. It is gradually being understood that appropriate recognition of people’s
traditional and customary rights can play a significant role in forest
protection. There has been some progress in recent months in this area. The

20
 INTRODUCTION

Minister for Agrarian Affairs issued a ministerial decree (No. 5/1999) that
recognizes for the first time the traditional and customary forest rights of
people. However, this leaves a lot to be desired. The legislative arrangements
for land and forest management should recognize the linkage between
livelihoods of forest communities and the management of forests around
them. This will lead to greater stakes for the community in forests and will
encourage communities to actively participate in protecting them.
The issues discussed in this section have been discussed and analyzed
in studies which have suggested a number of medium- and long-term
strategies for forest fire management. However, as ADB (1999) indicates,
even if these strategies are implemented effectively, it will take five to ten
years to reduce the risk of losses from forest and land fires in Indonesia to a
reasonable level.

1.1.6 Possible Impacts on Communities and Human Settlements

Different types of communities living in and around the forests of Indonesia

are an integral part of the forest economy. Most of them are dependent on
agriculture and forest use, mainly in a combination of shifting cultivation for
food crops and perennial gardens, along with hunting, fishing, and forest
product gathering. For indigenous communities, customary law governs the
use of forest resources. As a result of close interaction between these
communities and the forests, the impacts of large-scale forest fires on them
are always significant. These may include inadequate food supply as a result
of destruction of crops adjoining the fire-affected forests, inadequate
availability of wood and building materials, lack of other forest products
gathered or used by villagers, and impacts on cash earnings or paid work.
Over the last two decades, the competition for forest resources has
increased and, as a result, indigenous forest communities find themselves in
conflict with logging concessionaires and industrial plantation owners. The
rights and privileges of these concessionaires and owners often ignore the
forest resource use practices of local communities. The conflict between
indigenous communities, who are the traditional land users, and the new
users, has been cited as one of the significant causes of the 1997-98 fires.
The situation becomes even more complex as one takes into account other
communities such as spontaneous settlers and transmigration villagers who
have different relationships with forests, and whose pattern of forest use is
different from that of indigenous communities.

1.2 The Current Initiative

From the above discussion it becomes clear that it is extremely important to

look at the issues of forest fires in relation to communities and human

21
 INTRODUCTION

settlements. This will help alleviate the impacts of forest fires on

communities as well as carve out a meaningful and sustainable role for
communities to participate in fire prevention, monitoring and suppression.
In the aftermath of the 1997-98 forest fires in Indonesia, a number of
national and international initiatives have been taken to assess the causes and
effects of these fires and suggest a range of strategies for a more effective
forest fire management system in Indonesia. These strategies deal with
various aspects such as fire information systems, communication,
information and education programmes, development of regulations and
mechanisms for law enforcement, and institutional development. Although
most of these efforts do recognize the vital role of communities2 in effective
forest fire management, relatively little attention has been paid to it. The
current inter-agency initiative complements on-going efforts at improving
forest fire management systems by bringing in local community level
perspectives on the issue.
This initiative, led by the United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements (Habitat) and supported by the Government of Japan, began with
an inter-agency mission to Indonesia in June 1999. The mission included
experts from UNCHS (Habitat), UNCRD, UNDP and ADPC. This document
is based on consultations with Indonesian government agencies and
departments, a range of international agencies and NGOs working on forest
fire management issues in Indonesia, secondary information collected from
numerous reports (both published and unpublished), and a field visit to East
Kalimantan.

1.2.1 The Key Objectives

The mission focused on the linkages between forest and land fires and
communities. The key objectives of the study were to:

• understand the effects of forest fires on communities, and at the same

time, to assess community actions as causal factors in forest fires;
• understand the discord between local and national interests as they relate
to forest fire management in Indonesia; and
• explore opportunities for community involvement in forest fire
prevention, monitoring and suppression vis-à-vis other stakeholders
within the changing legislative and political context in Indonesia.

2
In some cases this recognition has also been translated into grassroots level programmes
that focus on community issues related to forest fire management. The GTZ-supported
IFFMP in East Kalimantan is one such example.

22
 INTRODUCTION

The draft report of this initiative was presented at a National

Consultation Seminar on “Forest Fires and Human Settlements” organized
by the Ministry of Human Settlements in collaboration with UNCHS
(Habitat) in Jakarta, Indonesia on 7-8 October 1999. Experts from ADPC,
UNCRD, UNDP Jakarta, national and international NGOs working on forest
fire issues and more than 50 senior level representatives from Indonesian
government agencies attended the Seminar3. The recommendations made at
the Seminar have been incorporated in the present report.

3
Annex III contains a list of participants in the National Consultation Seminar.

23
II. FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND
COMMUNITIES

2.1 Institutional and Legal Framework and Forest Property Rights

2.1.1 Institutional Arrangements for Managing the Forestry Sector

Forestry Department boundaries in Indonesia cover about 144 million ha,

representing about 75% of the land base of the country. The forests are zoned
into five categories: conservation and national parks (13% of the total),
watershed protection (21%), limited production forest (21%), regular
production forest (24%) in which selection logging is permitted, and
conversion forest (21%) designated for change to agriculture.
The Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops (MoFEC) comprises an
Inspectorate and Secretariat General, two centres for education and training,
an agency for research and development, and four operational Directorate
Generals (DG) for Forest Utilization, Reforestation and Rehabilitation,
Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, and Forest Inventory and Land
Use Planning.
Management of the forest sector was found to be weak. Java, which
has less than 2% of all forested land, has 50% of all forestry administrative
staff. Staff on the outer islands rely largely on concessionaire reports to
determine annual allowable cuts and royalties to be paid on merchantable
timber. Poor logging practices and breaches of regulations are difficult to
detect.

2.1.2 Current Forest Management Practices

The forests of Indonesia are being logged at a rate of approximately 40

million cubic metres per year, a rate nearly twice that recommended by
MoFEC for “sustainable” yields. The causes of deforestation in “old-growth”
or primary forests are currently a subject of debate. Contributing factors
include logging by the timber industry (clear-cut logging and selection
logging), estate and plantation development (large private commercial estates
and state-owned plantations) and smallholder cultivation (“shifting-
cultivation” forest pioneers, tree crop smallholders, and both “regular” and

25
 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

“spontaneous” transmigrants). A lack of independent data prevents any

detailed assessment of the relative growth and impact of each factor. Timber
plantations are intended to supply Indonesia’s emerging pulp and paper
industry which currently relies on a diminishing supply of wood fibre from
natural forests: the rate of plantation development is closely linked to the
price of logs and the export market. Hence plantation development
contributes significantly to deforestation.
Government recognition of the need to manage the forest sector on a
more sustainable basis led to the following items in the fifth five-year
economic plan (1990/91 - 1994/5):

• no increases in targets for log extraction;

• integration of logging and processing activities;
• restriction of forest plantations to degraded forest lands;
• extended leases on forest plantations (from 20 to 35 years);
• a moratorium on new licenses for plywood and sawmill construction; and
• extension education and training.

Yet logging activities continue to result in severe reductions in forest

health and biodiversity. Standing trees are being damaged as a result of poor
logging practices, and re-entry before the 35-year logging cycle elapses is
compounding the losses. Slow regeneration of valuable species contributes to
the reduced value of logged-over areas. Consequently, many concessionaires
do little to protect their holdings from encroachment and fire once they are
logged.
In general, the poor logging and reforestation practices are a result of
the high opportunity cost of capital, a long period for regeneration and the
current system of relatively short timber concessions. Considered together,
they promote a short-term perspective on forest resources management,
which is characterized by clear-cut logging with little effective restoration of
the natural environment. The situation has been worsened by shortcomings in
the regulatory structure that have resulted in reforestation funds being
misappropriated.
Although some deforestation is inevitable, the current situation
represents a substantial economic loss. When compounded with influences of
climate change and the current economic crisis, it may be the precursor to
large-scale environmental degradation. The economic crisis will likely
increase pressure on Indonesia’s natural forest cover, largely through
expanded agricultural production and mining, and the potential for a revived
demand in wood products processing.

26
 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

2.1.3 Legal Framework for the Forestry Sector

There are eight basic laws (undang-undang) that govern the management of
the forest estate, and one basic law on cultivation, that have important
implications for the estate sector. The basic laws provide the general legal
principles to which subsequent government decrees and regulations refer and
from which they derive their legal standing. These laws include:

• The Agrarian Law of 1960 (Undang-Undang No. 5/1960)

This law establishes the legal grounds for different rights to land
ownership, use and development. It recognizes the possibility of
communal claims to land according to customary right (hak ulayat).

• The Basic Forestry Law of 1967 (Undang-Undang No. 5/1967)

This law establishes the legal framework for the administration,
conservation and utilization of land and resources classified as forest
estate. It does not formally recognize rights to communal land claimed
under customary law nor does it acknowledge the existence of
populations living within the forest estate.

• The Management of the Living Environment Law of 1982 (Undang-

Undang R.I. No. 4/1982)

• The Spatial Use Management Law of 1992 (Undang-Undang R.I. No.

24/1992)

• The Population Density and Family Welfare Law of 1992 (Undang-

Undang R.I. No. 10/1992)

• The Basic Law Ratifying the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity

(Undang-Undang R.I. No. 5/1994)

• The Basic Law on the Management of the Living Environment of 1997

(Undang-Undang R.I. No. 23/1997)

• The Basic Law on Cultivation of 1992 (Undang-Undang R.I. No.

12/1994)

The most fundamental problem in the legislation is the contradiction

between the Agrarian Law of 1960 and the Basic Forestry Law of 1967.
While the Agrarian Law recognizes the customary rights of people, the Basic

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 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

Forestry Law does not. This contradiction in legislation has important

implications and poses serious limitations to community involvement in
forest fire prevention.
Based on the principles laid out in the above-mentioned laws, a
number of government decrees and regulations have been issued at different
times and levels. The implementation of these decrees and regulations has
been rather weak.
It is important to note that two important new laws were passed in
1999, the Local Government Autonomy Law (No. 22/1999 enacted on 7 May
1999) and the Forestry Law (No. 41/1999 enacted on 30 September 1999).
Both laws acknowledge the customary rights of local people to a wide range
of local resources including the forest. Their implementation will imply that
the central government will have limited authority in managing the forests.
However, it will take a few more years before these laws are fully
implemented.

2.1.4 Forest Property Rights of Different Stakeholders

Communities Living in and around Forest Estates

There are three existing regulations directed toward communities in and

around forest estates:

• The Community Development in Timber Concessions Program (HPH

Bina Desa Hutan No. 691/Kpts-II/91)
This regulation directs concession-holders to take responsibility for the
improvement of the welfare of the populations in and around
concessions.

• Joint Decree on Forest Dwellers and Shifting Cultivators (No. 480/ Kpt-
II/93)
This decree identifies forest dwellers and shifting cultivators as
“destroyers of the forests and disturbers of the balance of nature”. It
assigns responsibilities among different ministries for the resettlement of
these populations outside forest areas.

• Forestry Decree on the Use of Forest Products by Customary Law

Communities with Forest Concession Areas (No. 251/Kpts-II/1993)
This decree acknowledges the existence of customary law communities
(masyarakat hukum adat) in forest concession areas and their traditional
communal rights to both timber and non-timber products. However, it

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 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

shifts formal recognition of such groups and their rights to the Bupati of
the areas in which they are found and requires that they obtain
permission from the local head of forestry.

The three above-mentioned regulations are particularly unfavourable

to forest communities, severely restricting their use of timber and limiting
their access to other forest products. They also do not differentiate between
indigenous communities (long-established forest dwellers), transmigrants
and spontaneous settlers. All the forest communities are labelled as shifting
cultivators (peladang berpindah) who destroy the forests and disturb nature’s
balance. These regulations are the main target of the reform process.

The Private Sector

Based on the legal principles provided by the Basic Forestry Law,

subsequent decrees (PP No. 21/1970 and PP No. 7/1970) have established
utilization rights, the most recent of which is the utilization right for
industrial plantation forests. The management of land clearance by industrial
plantations is guided by these rights of utilization. One of the most recent
regulations is a ministerial decree (Keputusan Menteri No. 728/Kpts-II/1998)
that limits the size of different kinds of concessions. Its main points are:

• For any private company, the maximum area for a natural forest
concession (HPH) or timber plantation concession (HPHTI) for pulp or
non-pulp is set at 100,000 ha in any one province (except Irian Jaya
where the limit is 200,000 ha), and for the whole of Indonesia, the
maximum limit is set at 400,000 ha.

• For any private company, the maximum area allowed for the conversion
of forest land for the cultivation of all crops (except sugar cane) is set at
20,000 ha per province, and for the whole of Indonesia at 100,000 ha.

• For sugar cane, the maximum concession in any province is 60,000 ha

and for the whole of Indonesia 150,000 ha.

This regulation will be applicable to new concessions and to HPH and

HPHTI concessionaires who wish to convert a portion of their holdings to
plantation. It represents a policy initiative that aims at providing greater
opportunities to medium-sized enterprises. However, in its implementation,
it may lead to excessive exploitation in pre-existing large concessions. This
is because renewal of HPH licenses will now involve substantial reduction in
the size of the concession. If current concession-holders have no possibility

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 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

of retaining a large part of their concession when it comes up for renewal,

there will be no incentive to do anything other than exploit it. Therefore, this
regulation requires restructuring to adequately encourage sustainable forest
management.

2.2 Competition for Forest Resources

Over the past few decades a range of new stakeholders in Indonesia’s forests
have been introduced. Whereas in the past, forests were inhabited only by
local ethnic groups (for example, Dayak and Kutai in East Kalimantan area),
new stakeholders have emerged: logging companies, various kinds of cash
crop plantations (oil palm, coconut, cacao, rubber) and conservation agencies
(Colfer, 1999). At the same time, some of the forest areas have undergone
significant demographic changes over the past two decades due to the influx
of spontaneous settlers and transmigrants. The informal resource use
agreements that evolved over centuries among the indigenous people are no
longer applicable with the influx of new settlers. Resource use patterns and
values differ among ethnic groups and have led to competition for
increasingly scarce forest resources. The following sub-sections try to
capture the nature of conflict between and among some of the key
stakeholders in forest resources.

2.2.1 Forest Communities

Although the forest areas of the entire country are marked by significant
ethnic diversity, forest communities can be divided into three broad groups:
indigenous communities, spontaneous settlers and official transmigrants.

Indigenous Communities

Indigenous communities are marked by significant ethnic diversity.

However, centuries of cohabitation have produced some complementarity of
forest resource use among them. This often means that the same stretch of
forest is used by different indigenous groups for meeting different resource
requirements. Colfer (1999) cites an example of Long Segar forest area in
East Kalimantan where the Kenyah people consciously left commercial
rattan collection and shingle-making to the Kutai from neighbouring
Kernyanyan. Similarly, in the Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve in West
Kalimantan, the Iban and Melayu divided the resources by exploiting the
forest and lakes respectively.
The boundaries of the forest areas used by different indigenous
communities often overlap for different resource uses and are marked by
informal, locally recognized signs which are almost never mapped or

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 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

documented in a formal way and often disappear after a fire event. The
different resource uses include the usage of timber from the forest,
cultivation of forest gardens for fruit and other products such as rattan, as
well as non-agricultural uses such as hunting and gathering. These traditional
resource use patterns are regulated by the customary community head (adat
kepala) who decides individual as well as collective resource use rights.
Over the past few decades, these communities have found themselves
increasingly in conflict with the private sector when the concessions issued
by the Forestry Department completely ignored their traditional forest
resource use patterns and requirements. For example, when a forest area is
converted into a forest concession, hunting is completely disallowed in that
area. The lack of formal documentation of their traditional forest resource
use patterns, and almost complete disregard of their resource requirements by
the Forestry Department, has led to a sense of tenure insecurity and
perceptions of inequity among the indigenous communities. This has often
led to conflicts with the forest concessionaires and plantation owners,
resulting in the spread of fires in the plantation areas. Gonner (1999) has
documented one such conflict between Dayak farmers and an oil palm
plantation company in Kutai sub-district of East Kalimantan province. The
conflict arose when the plantation company converted traditionally owned
forest gardens into plantation land without paying adequate (or any)
compensation to the Dayak villages.

Spontaneous Settlers

These communities have usually come from other islands of the country in
search of better occupational opportunities. It appears that the indigenous
communities have been able to strike a harmonious chord with the
spontaneous settlers because the process of settlement of the latter without
any government support involves significant dialogue between the two
communities, resulting in informal, amicable agreements for cohabitation.

Official Transmigrants

These communities are brought in from other islands either by the

government or by plantation companies as labourers. Transmigrants, who are
perceived to be favoured by the government and plantation owners, often
find themselves in conflict with indigenous communities. They bring in new
values and little knowledge of the local conditions. They are often greatly
dependent on plantation companies and are involved in setting fires for land
clearance. Unlike the indigenous communities, they are not familiar with the
traditional mechanisms of dealing with fire as a normal (controllable)
agricultural tool. It has generally been observed that the risk of fire around

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 FORESTS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES

transmigrant communities is much higher. In parts of East Kalimantan, a

number of peat fire incidents started because of fires set by transmigrant
communities for turtle hunting.

2.2.2 The Private Sector

The private sector stakeholders in the forests of Indonesia can be broadly

divided in two groups: natural forest concessionaires (HPH) and timber
plantation concessionaires (HPHTI).
The natural forest concessionaires selectively log their concessions
for timber. Communities living around these concessions may not use these
areas for hunting or any other use. In the past, shorter concession tenures
resulted in unsustainable rates of logging. Poor logging practices have also
added to the poor management of these concessions. As mentioned in section
2.1.4, the new regulations limiting the size of these concessions (and hence
requiring a reduction in size at renewal) may discourage sustainable
management of large natural forest concessions. Although these
concessionaires have engaged in unsustainable forest management practices,
the incidence of fire is not in their interest. Some of them have their own
(however inadequate) arrangements for fire suppression.
Timber plantation concessionaires include both pulp and non-pulp
users. Oil palm plantation companies seem to be the most in conflict with
local communities. The expansion of oil palm plantation areas has support
from different levels in the government. The Government of Indonesia
expects to be the largest producer of palm oil by the year 2005, hoping to
have converted 5.5 million ha to oil palm alone (Potter and Lee, 1999). The
oil palm plantation owners come in with their own labour force. These
migrants settle in and around the plantation areas and are heavily dependent
upon these plantations for their livelihood. Plantation companies often clear
forest lands traditionally used by indigenous communities by setting fires
without paying them adequate compensation. This has resulted in conflict
between indigenous people and plantation companies, and was one of the
chief causes of large-scale fires in 1997-98.

2.2.3 Local Governments and Local Forest Departments

With the devolution process under way in Indonesia, local governments and
forestry departments will have an increasingly important role in the
management of forests. A range of forestry functions is already being
transferred to the provinces. A state regulation issued in June 1998 transfers
to the governor of each province central forestry functions such as the
management of national parks and the determination of their boundaries.
Regulations such as this mark the beginning of not only the process of

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devolution of authority but also constitute a step towards transfer of central

capacities to the provinces. In such a changing context, local governments
will have to play an active role in resolving conflicts between different
communities and the private sector. In the absence of detailed and accurate
land use maps and documentation of traditional resource use patterns, it will
be a challenging task for local governments to evolve a forest management
system that is both sustainable and beneficial to all stakeholders.

33
III. FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN
INDONESIA

3.1 Introduction

After the 1997-98 forest fires, the forest fire management system in
Indonesia, including current institutional arrangements and regulatory
frameworks, came under detailed scrutiny in a number of studies. The report
entitled “Forest and Land Fires In Indonesia - Volume I” published by the
Ministry of Environment/UNDP (1998) presents a detailed analysis of how
the existing organizational structures responded before, during and after fires
in 1997. ADB (1999) presents a detailed analysis of the institutional
mechanisms and complex regulatory frameworks for fire management in
Indonesia. This report also attempts to explain some of the major factors
especially related to forest policies and regulations, which may have allowed
the fires to burn out of control in 1997-98. This chapter draws heavily on
these two studies and presents a brief overview of institutional and legislative
arrangements for disaster management in Indonesia and the place of forest
fire management within this overall framework. The first part of the chapter
briefly describes the overall disaster management system at national,
provincial and district levels. The next part deals specifically with legislative
and regulatory frameworks for forest fire management in the country. The
concluding section summarizes limitations in the regulatory framework and
their implications at the local level.

3.2 Disaster Management in Indonesia

The sixth Five-Year Development Plan of Indonesia (Repelita VI) has

specifically identified disaster management as a priority action area. Repelita
VI emphasizes the need to pursue disaster management in its full range –
prevention, preparedness, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction – on a
cross-sectoral basis with emphasis on community level understanding and
action to reduce the risk of any kind of disaster. The plan identifies a range
of action areas to strengthen disaster management in the country, such as:

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

• awareness generation and preparedness at the local level (of both local
communities and government authorities);
• human resources development;
• provision of appropriate equipment;
• prevention of environmental degradation to reduce the risk of disasters;
• capacity-building of emergency responders and communities for search
and rescue in the aftermath of a disaster;
• formulation of standard operating procedures for dealing with different
kinds of hazards; and
• appropriate legislation or enabling regulations to support disaster
prevention and management activities.

3.2.1 Institutional Arrangements for Disaster Management

Presidential Decree No. 43 of 1990 recognized the need for integrated and
coordinated measures to be taken before, during and after a disaster, and
established “non-structural” coordination mechanisms at national and district
levels. The coordination mechanisms at the national, provincial and district
levels are described in the following sub-sections.

National Level

At the national level, coordination of the various departments and agencies

involved in disaster management is to be accomplished through the National
Disaster Management Coordinating Board (BAKORNAS Penanggulangan
Bencana). Established and reconstituted by a succession of Presidential
Decrees (Keppres No. 256/1996, Keppres No. 28/1979, Keppres No.
43/1990), BAKORNAS PB operates under the chairmanship of the
Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare and includes on its Board the
Ministers of Social Affairs, Home Affairs, Public Works, Health and
Transport, the Commander of the Armed Forces, the Director General for
Social Assistance in the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Governors of
disaster-affected provinces.
Disaster management task forces at the provincial (SATKORLAK
PB) and district levels (SATLAK PB) operate under the aegis of
BAKORNAS PB. The responsibilities of BAKORNAS PB include:

• formulation of policies and programmes for integrated, coordinated and

sustainable disaster prevention and management;
• coordination of prevention efforts before, during and after disaster
events;
• preparation of guidelines for integrated planning;

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

• coordination of inter-agency cooperation between government and non-

government agencies at national and international levels; and
• coordination of collection and distribution of aid for disaster victims.

Neither the Environmental Impact Protection Agency (BAPEDAL) nor the

Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops (MoFEC) was represented on the
Board of BAKORNAS PB until recently. However, both agencies are now
represented on the Board, wherein MoFEC deals with fire suppression issues
and BAPEDAL represents concerns related to public education, awareness
generation and policy reform.

Provincial Level

At the provincial level, coordination is accomplished through the office of

the Governor who chairs the SATKORLAK PB, which has provincial level
representatives of the departments that are represented in BAKORNAS PB.
The responsibilities of SATKORLAK PB include:

• coordination, provision of guidelines, directives and education in disaster

management at planning, implementation and evaluation stages;
• coordination and control of administrative and technical activities
undertaken by other agencies, provincial level agencies and communities;
and
• coordination of collection and distribution of aid.

District Level

At the district level, similar arrangements exist wherein the SATLAK PB

carries out mobilization of the above-mentioned representative offices.
However, unlike BAKORNAS PB and SATKORLAK PB, these are more
operational units and constitute the primary mechanism for disaster
management in the provinces. On forest fire prevention and suppression
issues, SATLAK PB, being an operational unit, is coordinated through the
provincial fire centres. The responsibilities of SATLAK PB include:

• implementation of disaster management at local level through use of

local people, facilities and resources; and
• implementation of prevention measures in cooperation with municipality
administrations through education, training and better preparedness.

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

3.2.2 Place of Fire Prevention and Suppression in the Overall Disaster

Management System

At the national level, the main operational responsibility for forest fire
management seems to lie outside the core disaster management structure of
the country and within the purview of MoFEC and the Ministry of
Environment (BAPEDAL). BAKORNAS PB, the national focal point for
disaster management, does not have an ability to establish permanent links
with field fire-fighters. However, with the recent inclusion of MoFEC and
BAPEDAL on its Board, BAKORNAS PB has a greater role to play in fire
prevention and suppression issues. MoFEC possesses extensive powers over
HPH/HPHTI companies in terms of activities that such companies are
required to implement for planning, preparation, detection, suppression and
rehabilitation of fires and fire areas. The regulatory framework defining the
role of MoFEC and BAPEDAL in forest fire management is explained in
greater detail in the next section. At the district level, mainstream disaster
management activity seems to converge with fire prevention and suppression
activity where SATLAK is mobilized through the provincial fire centres.
With the inclusion of MoFEC and BAPEDAL on the Board of BAKORNAS
PB, there seems to be some streamlining of fire prevention and suppression
functions at the national level in recent months. However, this is not likely to
translate automatically into better fire prevention and suppression at the local
level. The financial crisis at all levels of the government and the prevailing
political uncertainties are major impediments.

3.3 Regulatory Framework for Forest Fire Prevention

The regulatory framework for forest fire prevention in Indonesia is set out in
a series of decrees, two of these issued by the President, several issued by the
Minister for Forestry, and one issued by the Minister for Environment. This
section reviews some of these important decrees.

• State Regulation on Forest Planning (Peraturan Pemerintah No.

33/1970)

This decree mandated the spatial planning and demarcation of the

different functional categories of forest together with an inventory and
survey of resources for use and conservation. It gives precedence to
conservation over utilization in all cases where demarcation is not yet
determined.

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

• State Regulation on Forest Protection (Peraturan Pemerintah No.

28/1985)

This decree gives primary responsibility to provinces for the preparation

of regulations for the prevention and suppression of forest fires and to
provincial forestry officials for protecting areas in and around forest
estates. Article 10 also states that it is the responsibility of the local
population to take part in preventing and suppressing forest fires. But at
the same time, this article perpetuates the false assumption that there are
no local populations in the forest, only populations around the forests.

• Guidelines for the Protection of Utilization Forest (Ministry of Forestry

No. 523/Kpts-II/1993)

These guidelines make it the responsibility of each concession-holder to

organize and equip a “patrol and protection unit’ (Satpam PH),
appropriately funded and competently staffed according to the size of the
concession, to safeguard the forest concession.

• Establishment of a National Center for Forest Fire Management (Ministry

of Forestry No. 188/Kpts-II/1995)

This decree establishes a National Center for Forest Fire Management in

the Ministry of Forestry, headed by the Minister, with the Director
General of Forest Protection and Conservation as chairman, the Director
of Forest Protection as executive, and the Head of the Sub-directorate for
Forest Fires as secretary. By this decree, similar centres were to be
established by Governors’ decrees in all provinces. These centres were
each to have their own implementing Fire Brigade Unit.

• Establishment of a National Coordination Agency for Fires (Ministry of

the Environment No. KEP-18/MENLH/3/1995)

Issued by the Minister for Environment on the same day as the previous
decree was issued by the Minister for Forestry, this decree created the
National Coordination Agency for Fires (BKNL). BKNL reports directly
to the Minister for Environment. Its executive chairman is the Director
General of Forest Protection and Conservation, and its deputy chair is
Deputy for the Management of Environmental Pollution in BAPEDAL.
The other members of the committee are drawn from various other
ministries. Like the forestry decree, this decree also mandated the
creation of similar coordinating units at the provincial level, to be

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

established by Governors’ decrees and known as the Coordinating Team

for Management of Fires (Tim Koordinasi Pengendalian Kebakaran
Lahan, TKPKL).

• Directions for Efforts for the Prevention and Suppression of Forest Fires
(Ministry of Forestry No. 260/Kpts-II/1995)

This decree calls for the mobilization of the local population by an

“executive unit” (SATLAK) directed by the provincial forestry service
through the Regional Center for Forest Fires, in coordination with the
provincial heads of agriculture and transmigration, the Bureau of
Environment and the provincial government.

3.4 Limitations in the Regulatory Framework for Forest Fire Prevention

3.4.1 Lack of Flexibility

The numerous decrees that regulate fire prevention seem to assume that it
can be managed and directed by a detailed set of rules and procedures. These
“fixed” procedures take little account of the confusion that occurs in most
serious fires and the need for rapid responses at the local level with a great
deal of improvization.

3.4.2 Unclear Fire Management Structure

The structure of the fire management system in Indonesia that emerges from
the numerous regulations described above is enormously complex. All three
main agencies (BAKORNAS PB, MoFEC and MoE) have a command line
drawn through their structures to the field level, where practical suppression
activity is carried out. On the way down, there are numerous cross-links at
sectoral, provincial, regional and local levels of the agencies involved and
key people such as governors and SATLAK heads, until ultimately there is a
competition between agencies for the services of fire-fighters.
The existence of two fire management agencies within MoFEC and
BAPEDAL, and their mutual mandates to form units down to the local level,
offers considerable potential for confusion and rivalry in actual on-going fire
management. There was evidence of this during 1997-98.
Whatever the organization of these different formal structures may
be, they are made up exclusively of officials who already hold formal line-
positions within the local government such as Gubernur, Bupati, Camat,
Kanwil (administrative head [of forestry]) and Dinas (technical head [of
forestry]). These forest fire prevention structures therefore represent another

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

configuration of the same officials who meet regularly in other capacities at

other times.

3.4.3 Imbalance in Coordination Arrangements

ADB (1999) points out that fire-fighting has been given higher importance in
the Ministry of Environment with the establishment of a Directorate for
Forest Fires (SK Presiden No. 196/1998). In the Ministry of Forestry,
however, forest fires are still managed at sub-directorate level under the
Directorate of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation. This creates an
imbalance in coordinating agencies.

3.4.4 Lack of Uniform Fire Management Structures at Provincial Level

Given the nature of the national ministerial decrees that govern forest fire
prevention in Indonesia, especially those mandating different agencies, units
or centres, the various provinces of Indonesia have responded at different
times and in different ways to create their own local organizations. There is
no uniformity of structures for fire-fighting at the provincial level.

41
IV. FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS
IN INDONESIA

4.1 Introduction

In the aftermath of the 1997-98 forest fires, a range of national, regional and
international agencies have initiated a number of projects and programmes
focusing on different aspects of forest fire management. A study on past,
present and proposed forest fire projects in Indonesia during 1982-98
indicates that such projects have been precipitated by extreme fire events
(Dennis, 1998). Prior to 1994, such projects addressed issues of fire
prevention and control. After the 1994 fire, which created transboundary
pollution, the projects became interested in issues of both causation, and fire
prevention and control (Chandrasekharan, 1998). The increased frequency
and severity of forest fires in Indonesia during the 1990s has led to a number
of new initiatives as well as revival of several old ones at national, regional
and international levels. This chapter presents a summary of pre- and post-
1997 initiatives and attempts to analyze the trends in focus and scope of
these projects. This analysis is based on information disseminated through
the Global Fire Monitoring Center website and an article by Chandrasekhran
(1998).

4.2 National Initiatives

As mentioned in section 3.3, after the forest fires of 1994, the Ministry of
Environment created a National Coordination Agency for Fires (BKNL) and
the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops established a National Center for
Forest Fire Management. The decrees establishing both these mechanisms
mandated the formation of such coordinating mechanisms at the provincial
level as well. Following the 1997 fires, much emphasis has been placed on
strengthening and activating these existing mechanisms.
The Consultative Group on Indonesian Forests (CGIF) has also been
playing a major role in impressing upon decision-makers the need for
integrated forest fire management. One of the four working groups of CGIF
focuses on conservation, which has a sub-group that deals with forest fires.
As a follow-on to the formulation of the Regional Haze Action Plan for

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN INDONESIA

Southeast Asia, a National Haze Action Plan (NHAP) for Indonesia has also
been prepared, which will be an integrated part of integrated forest fire
management in the country.

4.3 Regional Initiatives

In August 1997 the ASEAN member countries constituted the Haze

Technical Task Force (HTTF) to formulate Regional and National Haze
Action Plans (RHAP and NHAP). These plans are expected to meet the
following objectives:

• to prevent land and forest fires through better management policies and
enforcement;
• to establish operational mechanisms to monitor land and forest fires; and
• to strengthen regional land and forest fire-fighting capability and other
mitigating measures.

The ASEAN ministerial meeting on haze held in Singapore in December

1997 endorsed the RHAP formulated by the HTTF. Specific countries have
been designated to spearhead the activities that fall under each of the three
RHAP components (Malaysia: prevention, Singapore: monitoring, and
Indonesia: mitigation). The Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported the
implementation of RHAP by approving a Regional Technical Assistance
(RETA) for strengthening the capacity of ASEAN to prevent and mitigate
transboundary atmospheric pollution. HTTF is now developing Sub-regional
Fire Fighting Arrangements (SRFAs) for Sumatra and Borneo islands.

4.4 International Assistance Projects within Indonesia

4.4.1 Fire Management Initiatives Started before 1997

Following the Southeast Asia smog episode of 1991, caused mainly by fires
burning on the Indonesian archipelago, an international conference on “long-
term integrated forest fire management” was held in June 1992. As a follow-
on to this meeting, GTZ started its Integrated Forest Fire Management
Project (IFFMP) in East Kalimantan in 1994. This was followed by the
JICA-funded Forest Fire Prevention and Management Project (FFPMP) in
Bogor, Jambi and West Kalimantan, and the EU-funded Forest Fire
Prevention and Control Project (FFPCP) in Southern Sumatra. Another
programme dealing with broad forest management concerns, called
Indonesia-UK Tropical Forest Management Programme (ITFMP), was
started in 1992, which also had components related to fires. All four projects

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN INDONESIA

have installed NOAA-AVHRR satellite image receiving systems to detect

and monitor fire hot-spot activity. In addition to strengthening the
institutional capacity of MoFEC to deal with fires, FFPCP, IFFMP and
FFPMP have also incorporated community-based approaches to fire
prevention and control.

4.4.2 Fire Management Initiatives Started after 1997

After the 1997 fires, a number of fire management projects of different

duration, geographical focus area and budget size were initiated. Some of
these are briefly described below.

• EU Fire Response Group

This group was established in October 1997 to provide information on

areas affected by fire.

• ITTO-CFC National Guidelines on Forest Protection against Fire

This is a collaborative project between PHPA and Bogor Agricultural

University that will produce guidelines for forest protection.

• ADB Assistance Program

ADB approved a study complementary to RETA called Advisory

Technical Assistance to Indonesia (ADTA) for planning for fire
prevention and drought management. The study had a national focus and
was coordinated by BAPPENAS.

• Australian Assistance to Combat Fire

Covering Indonesia and Malaysia, this two-year project has three

components covering fire prevention, mitigation and funding of the
WMO-formulated Program to Address Regional Transboundary Smoke
(PARTS).

• US Assistance under Southeast Asia Environmental Initiative

This is a regional assistance programme package consisting of US

contributions through different agencies for ten projects under three
groups: forest management, fire prevention and fighting, and climate
prediction and environmental monitoring.

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN INDONESIA

• GTZ’s Programme on Promotion of Sustainable Forest Management in

East Kalimantan

This project has been operational since 1993 and assists forest enterprises
to manage their forests sustainably.

• WWF-Indonesia

This initiative included an analysis of the cause and impacts of forest

fires and haze, and an Integrated Conservation Development Plan.

• UNDP

In collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, UNDP has prepared

an Action Plan for Prevention and Management of Forest and Land Fires.

In addition to these initiatives, a number of other project ideas from

different agencies are in the pipeline. Some of these include a three-year in-
depth study on the underlying causes of land and forest fires by CIFOR-
ICRAF-UNESCO; World Bank support for national environmental
development institutions, and for research and training relating to forest fire
management; a UNEP proposal on Early Warning System and Forest Fire
Hazard Mapping in Indonesia; and an IUCN-WWF Project “Fire-fight” to
establish a collaborative global network for forest fire prevention and
control.

4.5 Trends in Forest Fire Management Projects

A number of on-going and upcoming forest fire management projects in

Indonesia (see Annex I) exhibit overlap between project objectives,
activities, inputs and outputs. The effectiveness of these projects can be
significantly enhanced by a coordinating mechanism that improves
cooperation, sharing of information and expertise, and dissemination of
project results. A number of international projects are being implemented by
different national agencies, creating problems of coordination and
counterpart support.
Chandrasekhran (1998) observes that in the new generation of fire
projects, great emphasis is being placed on remote sensing technology for
monitoring and prediction, compared to practical pre-suppression and
suppression activities. While the application of sophisticated technology may
be extremely useful, in order to be most effective, it needs to be
complemented with more community-based forest fire prevention and

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 FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN INDONESIA

mitigation programmes that emphasize local-level capacity-building, public

education and awareness generation. Three of the pre-1997 projects (IFFMP,
FFPMP and FFPCP) have recognized this and have incorporated
community-based approaches into their programmes. In the past two years, a
number of NGOs such as WALHI, SKEPHI and TELAPAK have provided
support for addressing the problem of forest fires and haze.
Chandrasekhran (1998) also notes another trend: that “lessons are not
being learned from experience about need for preparedness.” Most of the
projects that started in 1997 dealt with assessment of damages and
development of capacities to undertake necessary activities to prevent,
monitor and control fires. However, no direct provision was made for facing
the re-emergence of such devastating fires in 1998.

47
V. UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND
LAND FIRES

5.1 Introduction

In the aftermath of the 1997-98 forest fires in Indonesia, a number of studies

have been conducted at national, provincial and local levels to identify their
causes. Analyses have also been done to compare the causes of the 1997-98
fires with previous large-scale fire events. An overview of this comparative
analysis was presented in section 1.1.3. This chapter presents an overview of
the causes of the 1997-98 fires based on a number of earlier studies, most
notably by the ADB (1999), Ministry of Environment/UNDP (1998) and
Colfer (1999). It also draws upon discussions held with a number of senior
government officials and international agencies, and a visit by the mission to
the East Kalimantan area. While this discussion is based largely on the 1997-
98 fires, the main focus is on the fundamental causes that relate to
communities and human settlements that have persisted until today. These
causes can be broadly divided into three distinct but inter-related categories:
causes related to weaknesses in the overall policy and regulatory framework,
those related to local level conflicts, and those related to increasing
vulnerability of a continually degrading forest environment. The following
sections explain the causes of the 1997-98 fires and briefly touch upon the
changes that have been taking place for more than a year and a half.

5.2 Weaknesses in Policy and Regulatory Framework

5.2.1 Fundamental Contradiction between the Agrarian Law and Basic

Forestry Law

As explained in section 2.1.3, there is a fundamental contradiction between

the Agrarian Law of 1960 and the Basic Forestry Law of 1967. Unlike the
Agrarian Law, the Basic Forestry Law does not recognize customary rights
of communities over forest resources. The implementation of regulations
arising from the Basic Forestry Law completely ignores the interests of local
communities living in and around forest areas. This has not only taken away
the rights of local communities to access forest resources, and thus

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 UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

constrained their involvement in forest fire monitoring, prevention and

suppression, but has also led to animosities between local communities and
the private sector, allowing the spread of fire in the case of fire incidents.

5.2.2 Forest Utilization Rights of Concessionaires

The utilization rights of natural forest concessions are determined by

regulations based on the legal principles laid out in the Basic Forestry Law.
These regulations have been explained briefly in section 2.1.4. In the past,
short concession tenures have led to an unsustainable rate of logging. In the
last few years, the tenure of these concessions has been increased to 20-35
years. One of the most recent regulations (refer to section 2.1.4) limits
concession size. The implementation of this regulation would mean that the
renewal of large concession areas would now require a reduction in size.
While this reflects the government’s intention to encourage small- and
medium-sized enterprises, an imminent reduction in concession sizes may
lead to unsustainable use over the next few years. This underlines the need
for a regulatory framework that encourages sustainable utilization of the
forest and at the same time encourages small- and medium-sized enterprises.
There is a growing need to evolve a regulatory framework that enables
periodic monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the
concessionaires. Such evaluation should determine the eligibility of
concessionaires for further extension of their concessions.

5.2.3 Forest Utilization Rights of Communities Living in and around Forest

Areas

The regulatory framework governing the utilization of forests (refer to

section 2.1.4) stigmatizes forest dwellers (perambah hutan), severely
restricts their use of timber, and limits access to other forest products. ADB
(1999) points out that the false assumption underlying these regulations is
that forests are primarily for timber extraction. Such limited extraction can
only be carried out, by law, by concession-holders who may not be interfered
with. These regulations completely ignore customary ways of forest resource
utilization that indigenous communities have evolved over hundreds of
years. This formal mind-set has had profound implications for forest
management, not just in dealing with established forest communities, but in
all matters regarding biodiversity and the resource wealth of the forests as
natural ecosystems. The unfavourable regulatory framework has discouraged
local communities from living in harmony with the private sector and from
participating in fire prevention, monitoring and suppression initiatives.

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 UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

5.2.4 Lack of Emphasis on Building Management Capacities at the Local

Level

Over the last few decades there has been little emphasis on building
capacities at the local level on different aspects of forest fire management.
During the 1997-98 fires, the lack of local level capacity was evident in
many ways. Ministry of Environment/UNDP (1998) points out that in March
1997, even though a fire alert was relayed by the Ministry of Forestry, the
Provincial Forest Service did not relay forest fire alerts to the private HPH
and HPHTI companies and shifting cultivators. Examples such as this
indicate the lack of capacity as well as lack of awareness at the local level,
where the system for reporting fires is too slow to be effective. According to
the Ministry of Environment/UNDP (1998), it takes anywhere from three
days to a week for field reports to reach provincial or district offices. By then
these reports are already out of date as fires can spread and change rapidly.
The 1997-98 fires underlined the fact that field level initiatives in
monitoring, prevention and suppression are either completely lacking or
unclear.

5.2.5 Lack of an Integrated Forest Management System and Inadequate

Inter-ministerial Dialogue

An integrated forest management system that recognizes the role of

communities, and at the same time views the forest as a source of
employment and livelihood, would require significant dialogue between
different ministries. Current thinking is very sectoral wherein the Ministry of
Forestry is primarily concerned with the management of forest resources
without taking into account the communities that live in and around the
forests. An integrated forest management system would require rigorous
land-use management planning and would have to take into account
fundamental issues related to agriculture, food security and water resources
management. This will require a significant dialogue between different
ministries such as Forestry, Environment, Social Welfare and Agriculture.

5.3 Local Conflicts

5.3.1 Conflicts between Local Communities and the Private Sector

Many studies undertaken at the local level have indicated that conflict
between local communities and the private sector was one of the causes of
the 1997-98 fires. According to Colfer (1999), there is evidence to suggest
that as “perceptions of insecurity of access to resources increases, so does the

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 UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

use of fire as weapon.” As discussed in section 2.1.3, the Basic Forestry Law
does not recognize the customary rights of the communities in utilization of
forests. Based on this law, a subsequent decree (PP No. 21/1970)
establishing the utilization rights of HPH companies, further limits
community rights to access non-timber products. Forest communities often
feel that their customary rights of forest utilization are taken over and they
retaliate by burning trees planted by plantation companies. The limited
utilization rights of the forest communities have made them indifferent. In
the event of a fire, the communities often remain silent and do not raise
alarms for early suppression.

5.3.2 Conflicts among other Stakeholders of Forest Resources

The conflicts arising from overlap of property rights are not limited to local
communities and the private sector only. Ministry of Environment/UNDP
(1998) indicates that the conflicts over property rights are between a number
of groups: local communities, local communities and government, local
communities and migrants, local residents and private companies, and
private companies. These conflicts have not only hindered fire prevention
initiatives but have also been a major cause of starting fires.

5.3.3 Lack of Clear Land Use and Ownership Records

Lack of clear land use and ownership records have made it difficult to
resolve the conflicts between different stakeholders. As discussed in section
2.2.1, the boundaries of forest areas used by different indigenous
communities are marked by informal, locally recognized signs, which are
almost never mapped or documented in a formal way. Therefore, when
concessions are issued without taking into account the pre-existing land use,
communities do not have a concrete basis to protect their rights or claim
compensation from either the private companies or the government. There
have been numerous incidents where this has led to significant discord
between local communities and private companies. Over the last few years,
several NGOs have attempted to initiate community mapping processes to
document land and other resource use patterns of the community. Local
governments at the sub-district and district levels have recognized such
documentation.1 However, there has been little success in getting recognition
from provincial and higher levels. In a system where private companies
obtain their concessions from the higher levels of government, it is important

1
In Pancucasi, West Kalimantan, successful attempts have been made to train communities
in mapping their own resource use patterns and getting them recognized by the local
government.

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 UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

that recognition be obtained for these community forest use patterns from
higher levels as well. The absence of clear definition of rights, privileges and
obligations of the communities living in and around the forests, as well as the
private sector, has been one of the major factors contributing to the
vulnerability of the Indonesian forests to large-scale fires.

5.4 Increased Vulnerability of a Continually Degrading Forest Environment

5.4.1 Increased Vulnerability of Forests after Previous Fire Events

Although there has been a lack of time-series geo-referenced data on past

fires in Indonesia, there is a general consensus among experts that past fires
have increased the vulnerability of the forests in Indonesia to fires. In the
absence of an integrated rehabilitation programme after previous fires, large
tracts of forest land now have been covered with highly combustible
biomass. Large-scale logging and disturbance to the primary forests have
also contributed significantly to increased vulnerability. Colfer (1999) points
out that much of Kalimantan “has been converted to an environment that is
significantly drier than it was previously … There is more dry fuel for fires
now than there was when Kalimantan was covered in primary forest.” In
such a situation, local communities’ traditional mechanisms for dealing with
fire that worked well in humid tropical rain forests are inadequate. After the
1997-98 fires, there is a need to identify and map areas that have become
more vulnerable than others because of increased availability of dry fuel. In
the short term, such areas can be isolated by building physical fire-breaks.
However, in the long term, there is a need to involve communities and
evolve integrated rehabilitation plans that incorporate issues related to
agriculture, food security and water resources management.

5.4.2 Erosion of Traditional Knowledge of Controlling Fire

One of the factors that contributes to the increased vulnerability of

Indonesian forests to large-scale fires is the erosion of traditional knowledge
of using controlled and safe fire for land clearance. In traditional
communities, such use of fires has been a part of a broader resource
management practice. However, with the settlement of transmigrants and
other spontaneous settlers, this knowledge is diluted and is not common
among the communities living in and around forest areas.

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 UNDERLYING CAUSES OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

5.4.3 Continued Logging and Land Conversion Activities and Implications

for Forest Vulnerability

The industrial policy over the last few decades has been such that it has
encouraged the establishment of a huge number of saw and pulp mills. The
rate of logging and land conversion for plantations required to meet the
demands of these mills is much higher than the sustainable rate of forest
utilization. This has destroyed the inherent resilience of tropical rain forests
to large-scale fires. In addition, inappropriate logging techniques leave
behind significant logging residue that provides additional combustible fuel
for fires, making forests even more vulnerable.

54
VI. STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE
PREVENTION OF FOREST AND
LAND FIRES

6.1 Introduction

The preceding chapters establish the complexity of issues relating to forest

and land fire prevention in Indonesia. This chapter recommends some
strategies for action that have emerged as possible areas of intervention in
long-term forest and land fire prevention, from the point of view of each
major stakeholder group. In line with the focus of this mission as explained
in section 1.2, these strategies explore the role of communities in forest fire
prevention.
As mentioned earlier, following the 1997-98 fires, a number of
projects and programmes have been initiated by government, non-
government and international agencies to strengthen forest and land fire
management in Indonesia. Implementation of the recommended strategies
would require that they be integrated into projects and programmes that
involve all stakeholder groups in multi-dimensional and innovative
institutional arrangements. At the same time, they should complement on-
going initiatives that are more technical in nature such as fire intelligence
(e.g., real-time hot-spot detection, vegetation mapping, fire danger rating),
fire management training and fire suppression infrastructure building.
The full implementation of the recently enacted Local Government
Autonomy Law (No. 22/1999) and Forestry Law (No. 41/1999) will provide
new opportunities, especially for projects and programmes that deal with
educating local communities on their rights and responsibilities with regards
to forest management.

6.2 Strategic Action Areas for Each Stakeholder Group

The following sub-sections identify strategic action areas that can strengthen
the role of each stakeholder group in forest and land fire prevention. These
action areas are inter-related and their actual implementation will require an
integrated approach where the concerns of all stakeholders can be met.

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

6.2.1 Local Communities

Participatory Community Mapping and Documentation of Traditional

Resource Management Practices

Indonesia is going through a nation-wide reform process which will

decentralize governance and devolve decision-making to local levels. This
will have implications for the forestry sector too. Recently, the Ministry of
Forestry and Estate Crops has created a new category of forest defined as
“societal or communal forest” (hutan kemasyarakatan), which will enhance
the role of local communities in the management and utilization of forests.1
However, in order to benefit the local communities, it is important that
capacities be built at the community level so that they can understand and
assert their rights and privileges. Participatory community mapping is a tool
that can help communities do that.
A number of NGOs in Indonesia have been assisting communities in
preparing adat territory maps.2 This experience can be used to document
traditional land ownership as well as traditional local resource management
systems (such as traditional fishing, hunting and gathering) through a
participatory process. This documentation can then be put forward for
recognition by the local government and used as a tool to resolve land
boundary and resource management conflicts between and among different
communities as well as outsiders. From the communities’ perspectives, the
immediate benefit will be in terms of protecting their traditional rights from
private companies. This will help to evolve resource management systems
that will take into account the interests of all stakeholders including local
communities, private companies, local governments and local forest
departments.

Documenting Traditional Ways of Controlled Burning

Controlled and safe burning for land clearance has been an integral part of
the traditional knowledge systems of a number of indigenous communities.
Traditional knowledge and attitudes in this context include not only those

1
This new category was made through the issuance of a ministerial decree (Kepmen No.
677/Ktp-II/1998) on 7 October 1998.
2
Discussions with the Biodiversity Support Program (BSP) based in Jakarta indicate that a
number of such initiatives are already under way in different parts of the country. A network
of 33 NGOs called Jaringan Kerja Pemetaan Partisipatif (JKPP) has been working since
1996 with the aim of “accelerating the recognition of customary community rights in
managing local natural resources in Indonesia through the development of community
mapping concepts, methodologies and strategies.” For more information on this network,
refer to Annex II.

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

ideas explicitly related to fire, but also include local culture that creates
harmony between humans and nature. Studies indicate that a variety of social
and economic factors have led to erosion of this local knowledge. During the
mission, a number of people working on fire management issues indicated
that creative documentation of traditional (controlled and safe) ways of
burning and associated resource management practices will be useful in
reinforcing forest fire prevention initiatives at the local level. These safe
techniques of burning can then be transferred to transmigrants or other
settlers who have not been using them. This will help generate greater
harmony and understanding between and among different communities. Such
documentation undertaken with the help of local NGOs can be used for
preparing simple, locally understandable manuals on safe and controlled
burning. This can be a valuable input to public education and awareness-
generation programmes on forest fire prevention by targeting local
communities, local government and workers of private companies.

Establishing Dialogue between Private Companies, Local Governments and

Local Forestry Departments

Many of the conflicts at the local level have arisen because of a lack of
dialogue between various competing stakeholders. The local communities in
Indonesia have a tradition of periodically coming together to discuss
(rembuk) issues of common concern. This tradition can be a starting point to
establish mechanisms for continuous dialogue (and conflict resolution)
between various stakeholders at the local level. Local NGOs can play a vital
role in this process. The rembuk tradition, combined with modern concepts
of conflict resolution, can be used by local NGOs to come up with simple,
locally applicable manuals for conflict resolution at the local level.

Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

The three above-mentioned strategies need to be supported by extensive

public education and awareness-generation programmes on forest fire
prevention issues within the broader context of sustainable forest resource
management at the local level. The public education needs of different
community groups (such as transmigrants, spontaneous settlers and
indigenous people), and their socio-cultural and economic backgrounds,
should be taken into account when designing public awareness programmes.

Training and Equipment for Local Fire Suppression

The experience of the 1997-98 fires indicates that even when an early
warning was issued and fires were detected, local level capacity for

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

suppression was extremely low. Studies indicate a strong willingness of local

communities to become involved in local fire suppression to protect their
own lands and nearby lands, provided they were supplied with tools and
training. ADB (1999) recommends strengthening in the following areas:
training in local fire suppression in accordance with formally established
standards; provision of basic and simple fire-fighting equipment at local
community level; fire intelligence and its rapid transmission; and local fire
management and coordination.

Legal Advice to Communities through NGOs, Local Governments and

Professional Groups

Indonesia is going through a wide-ranging legal and administrative reform

process. This will have far-reaching implications for all sectors of the society
and the environment. In such a context, it will be timely and relevant to
evolve mechanisms to provide legal advice to local communities regarding
their rights and privileges to the forest resources. Local NGOs, local
governments and professional groups could be involved in steering such a
process.

6.2.2 Private Companies

Establishing Dialogue with Local Communities

Establishing a regular dialogue with local communities will help private

companies in understanding communities’ concerns regarding the
management of forests. This will help reduce conflicts between private
companies and local communities, and increase possibilities of joint (and
complementary) resource management of forests. The current regulation
requires HPH concessionaires to take responsibility for the improvement of
the populations in and around concessions. The implementation of such a
regulation will be more meaningful if, through a dialogue, concessionaires
can understand the real needs of local communities.3

3
The Community Development in Timber Concession Program (HPH Bina Desa Hutan No.
691/Kpts-II/91), initiated in 1991, has generated numerous diagnostic studies of community
needs and has focused these analyses within five sub-programmes whose main goals appear
to be the promotion of sedentary agriculture and the development of infrastructure.

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

Capacity-Building for Fire Prevention and Suppression at the Plantation

Level

The existing Guidelines for the Protection of Utilization Forest (No.

523/Kpts-II/1993) make it the responsibility of each concession-holder to
organize and equip a “patrol and protection unit” (Satpam PH), adequately
funded and staffed according to the size of the concession, to safeguard the
forest concession. However, the experience of the 1997-98 fires revealed that
the fire prevention and suppression capacities of these units were far from
adequate. Private companies will benefit greatly from any assistance in
capacity-building of their Satpam PH for fire prevention and suppression.

Advice on Community Rights in Potential Concession Areas

A number of local level conflicts between concessionaires and local

communities can be avoided if private concessionaires are advised, well in
advance, of the rights of communities in their potential concession areas.
This will help minimize the cases where concessionaires take hold of a new
concession without even the knowledge of communities living in and around
the concession areas.

Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

The management practices of private companies can be improved by

extensive public education and awareness-generation programmes tailored to
the needs of these companies. These programmes should deal with forest fire
prevention issues within the context of sustainable forest resource
management. Such programmes should establish the longer-term economic
and environmental benefits of sustainable practices.

6.2.3 Local NGOs

Training of Trainers in Participatory Community Mapping

The capacity of local NGOs can be enhanced through training of trainers in

techniques of participatory community mapping and documentation of
community-based resource management systems. The resource persons for
such training can be brought from other NGOs who are experienced in this
area. The Jaringan Kerja Pemetaan Partisipatif (JKPP) participatory
mapping network of NGOs can be a possible resource. Such training may
include simple mapping techniques using GPS compass transects and their
practical applications. Local NGOs may also be assisted in building their
capacity to formalize and redraft these maps to a standard format and assist

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

communities in seeking formal recognition from the local government. The

local NGOs should also be able to assist local communities appropriately in
negotiating a co-management scheme with local governments and private
companies.

Non-formal Education on Legal Aspects of Forest Management and Local

Governance Laws

In the current phase of decentralization in Indonesia, NGOs can potentially

play a vital role in ensuring that local communities benefit from this reform
process. It is important that they are educated on the existing and emerging
legal aspects of forest management and local governance laws and their
implications. Such education will help them play an effective facilitating role
in reducing conflicts between local communities and private companies, and
in exploring possibilities for joint forest resource management.

Training in Conflict Resolution

Training in modern conflict resolution techniques will greatly enhance the

capacities of local NGOs to facilitate dialogue among the various
stakeholders in forest resource management.

Networking with other NGOs

Several NGOs across Indonesia have been working on techniques of

participatory community mapping and documentation of community-based
resource management systems and their application for conflict resolution.
Much can be learned from the experience of these on-going initiatives. Local
NGOs can benefit greatly from networking with other NGOs and capitalizing
on their experiences.

Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

Local NGOs should not only be a vehicle for public education and
awareness-generation programmes but also a target of some of these
programmes to build their capacity in promoting sustainable forest resource
management practices.

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

6.2.4 Local Government

Capacity-building for Local Level Planning

International experience in forest fire management has clearly established

that for effective fire prevention and suppression, clear and well-developed
local level planning, training and strategic operations are needed. The current
reform process is likely to devolve authority to the local level. In such a
context, capacity-building of local governments in local level planning will
be extremely important. This planning will include provincial level
integrated land use planning. Studies have emphasized the need for
developing “provincial spatial planning” (Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah
Propinsi, RTRWP). Within the framework of RTRWP, there is a need to
develop provincial fire prevention and suppression plans. The capacity for
such planning needs to be developed at the provincial level so that these
plans reflect the distinctive needs and characteristics of the provinces.

Training on Emerging Legislative and Regulatory Framework

The national level reform process needs to be complemented with provincial

level training on emerging legislative and regulatory frameworks, and their
implications for the functioning of local government. It is likely that the on-
going reform process will require local governments to work in partnership
with the local population in a democratic and transparent manner. Capacity
should be built at the district and sub-district levels of government to support
the local initiatives of community mapping and documentation of traditional
resource management systems (refer to sections 6.2.1 and 6.2.3) to resolve
local level conflicts.

Public Education and Awareness-Generation Programmes

Local governments should participate in public education and awareness-

generation programmes dealing with forest fire prevention issues and
sustainable forest resource management practices. This will improve their
understanding of local forest resource management issues and enhance their
capacity to promote sustainable practices.

6.2.5 Central Government

While the entire administrative system in Indonesia is being decentralized, it

is important that the administrative procedures at the central government
level are in consonance with the changes taking place at the local level. In
this context, a detailed review of the process by which forest concessions are

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 STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRES

issued at the central government level will be helpful. It should examine

whether the location of communities is taken into account while issuing
forest concessions and whether private concessionaires are informed about
the rights and privileges of communities living in and around their
concession areas.

6.2.6 Information Dissemination on Best Practices from Other Parts of the

World

In addition to the strategic action areas for different stakeholder groups

identified above, there are activities that may be carried out by international
agencies and academics that may be helpful in achieving longer-term goals
of forest fire prevention. The complex nature of forest fire prevention issues
in Indonesia has parallels in other countries that have similar forest
resources. Through many years of evolutionary process, some of these
countries have established effective mechanisms for forest fire prevention
within the broader framework of sustainable forest management. Lessons
learned from these experiences and the best practices can be disseminated to
the relevant stakeholders in the Indonesian context.

62
VII. REFERENCES

Anderson, I.P./ Bowen, M.R./ Imanda, I.D.: Vegetation Fires in Indonesia:

The Fire History of the Sumatra Provinces 1996-1998 as a Predictor
of Future Areas at Risk (Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project,
European Union and the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops) May
1999.

Anderson, I.P./ Bowen, M.R./ Imanda, I.D./ Muhnandar: Vegetation Fires in

Sumatra, Indonesia: A First Look at Vegetation Indices and Soil
Dryness Indices in Relation to Fire Occurrence (Forest Fire
Prevention and Control Project, European Union and the Ministry of
Forestry and Estate Crops) May 1999.

Anderson, I.P./ Imanda, I.D./ Muhnandar: Vegetation Fires in Indonesia:

The Interpretation of NOAA-derived Hot-spot Data (Forest Fire
Prevention and Control Project, European Union and the Ministry of
Forestry and Estate Crops) March 1999.

Anderson, I.P./ Imanda, I.D./ Muhnandar: Vegetation Fires in Indonesia:

Operating Procedures for the NOAA-GIS Station in Palembang,
Sumatra (Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project, European
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Anderson, I.P./ Imanda, I.D./ Muhnandar: Vegetation Fires in Sumatra,

Indonesia: The Presentation and Distribution of NOAA-derived Data
(Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project, European Union and the
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ADB: Final Report on Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought

Management Project, TA 2999-INO. Jakarta, Indonesia (Asian
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ADB and ASEAN: IC-SEA Synthesis and Reviews on Land Use Planning
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ADB and ASEAN: Implementing the RHAP, Vols. 1 & 2. Jakarta, Indonesia
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Biodiversity Support Program: KEMALA Implementation Report 6, October

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Chandrasekharan, C.: The Mission on Forest Fire Prevention and

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Colfer, C.J.P.: Ten Propositions to Explain Kalimantan’s Fires. 1999.

Dennis, R.: A Review of Fire Projects in Indonesia (1982-1998). Bogor,

Indonesia (Center for International Forestry Research) 1998.

Dennis, R./ Stolle, F./ Tomich, T.P.: Fire Review of Sumatra Island in 1997.
Fire Globe Website (Global Fire Monitoring Center) June 1999.

East Kalimantan Environmental Impact Management Agency: Control and

Management Efforts on Forest and Open Land Fires in the Province
of East Kalimantan. Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. June
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Environmental Impact Management Agency: The Report of BAPEDALDA on

the Visit of the German Parliament in East Kalimantan. April 1999.

Gonner, C.: Causes and Effects of Forest Fires: A Case Study from a Sub-
District in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Paper presented at the
ICRAF Methodology Workshop. Chiang Mai, Thailand. May-June
1999.

Indonesian-German Technical Cooperation: How to Cope with Haze from

Forest and Land Fires: Information and Guidelines. 1998.

Indonesian-German Technical Cooperation: Politics and Forestry in

Indonesia Reflected in Indonesian Newspapers, Period October
1997-October 1998. 1998.

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Mayer, J.H.: Socio-economic Aspects of the Forest Fire 1982/83 and the
Relation of Local Communities towards Forestry and Forest
Management in East Kalimantan. FR-Report No. 9. 1989.

Ministry of Environment/UNDP: Forest and Land Fires in Indonesia, Vols.

1 & 2. 1998.

Ministry of Forestry: Special Session on Forest Fire. Report on Eighth

Meeting of the Consultative Group on Indonesian Forestry (CGIF).
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Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops: Report of CGIF Working Group

Meeting on Social Forestry and Forest Fire. Sanggau, West
Kalimantan, Indonesia. July 1998.

Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops: Results of the Meeting of CGIF Sub-
working Group III on Land and Forest Fires. Jakarta. March 1998.

Potter, L./ Lee, J.: Oil-Palm in Indonesia: Its Role in Forest Conversion and
the Fires of 1997/98. Jakarta, Indonesia (WWF Indonesia Forest
Fires Project) May 1999.

Schindele, W./ Thoma, W./ Panzer, K.: The Forest Fire 1982/83 in East
Kalimantan. Part I: The Fire, the Effects, the Damage and Technical
Solutions. 1989.

Schweithelm, J.: The Fire this Time: An Overview of Indonesia’s Forest

Fires 1997/98. Jakarta, Indonesia (WWF Indonesia Forest Fires
Project) May 1999.

Sunderlin, W.D./ Resosudarmo, I.A.P.: Rates and Causes of Deforestation in

Indonesia: Towards the Resolution of the Ambiguities. Occasional
Paper No. 9. Bogor, Indonesia (Center for International Forestry
Research) 1996.

UNDP-Indonesia: Situational Update of Land and Forest Fires. May 1999.

Wakker, E.: Forest Fires and the Expansion of Indonesia’s Oil Palm
Plantations (WWF Indonesia Forest Fires Project) May 1999.

World Bank: Indonesia: Sustainable Development of Forests, Land and

Water. Washington D.C. 1990.

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ANNEX I

PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES ON FOREST FIRE

MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

Action Plan for Prevention and Management of Forest and Land Fires,
prepared by UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment.

ADB Assistance Program, a study undertaken in coordination with

BAPPENAS, on planning for fire prevention and drought management.

Australian Assistance to Combat Fire, funded by WMO as part of its

Program to Address Regional Transboundary Smoke (PARTS), covering
Indonesia and Malaysia.

EU Fire Response Group, October 1997, provides information on areas

affected by fire.

Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project (FFPCP), Southern Sumatra,

EU-funded.

Forest Fire Prevention and Management Project (FFPMP), Bogor, Jambi

and West Kalimantan, JICA-funded.

Indonesia-UK Tropical Forest Management Programme (ITFMP), 1992.

Integrated Forest Fire Management Project (IFFMP), East Kalimantan,

started in 1994 by GTZ.

ITTO-CFC National Guidelines on Forest Protection against Fire, a

collaborative project between PHPA and Bogor Agricultural University,
provides guidelines for forest protection.

National Haze Action Plan, a follow-on to the Regional Haze Action Plan
for ASEAN countries, 1997.

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 ANNEX I

Program on Promotion of Sustainable Forest Management, East

Kalimantan, by GTZ, assists forest enterprises to manage their forests
sustainably.

US Assistance under Southeast Asia Environmental Initiative, for forest

management, fire prevention and fighting, and climate prediction and
environmental monitoring.

WWF-Indonesia, analyzes causes and impacts of forest fires and haze.

Upcoming Projects

IUCN-WWF Project “Fire Fight”, to establish a collaborative network for

forest fire prevention and control.

Study on the underlying causes of land and forest fires, by CIFOR-ICRAF-

UNESCO.

UNEP proposal on Early Warning System and Forest Fire Hazard Mapping
in Indonesia.

World Bank support for national environmental development institutions and

for research and training related to forest fire management.

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ANNEX II

JARINGAN KERJA PEMETAAN PARTISIPATIF (JKPP)

A Participatory Community Mapping Network

JKPP is a network of 33 non-government and community organizations from

all over Indonesia. It was formed as an output from a national seminar
convened in May 1996 by Lembaga Alam Tropika Indonesia (LATIN), with
support from the Biodiversity Support Program and the Forest and Reefs
Program. This network was formed with the aim of “accelerating the
recognition of customary community rights in managing local natural
resources in Indonesia through the development of community mapping
concepts, methodologies, and strategies”. The network has the following
working groups:

• The Policy working group reviews spatial planning policies and provides
technical consultation and assistance to JKPP participants who are dealing
with policy issues. It will develop policy options to support community
mapping and a draft regulation on mapping systems to be submitted to the
Ministry of Environment.

• The Methodology working group focuses on improving mapping and

planning techniques, designing and implementing training of trainers for
participatory mapping, and producing an improved Participatory Mapping
Manual. It also provides trainers and resource people for technical
assistance to JKPP participants.

• The Secretariat serves as a networking hub and service centre for

mapping information. It collects and disseminates information on
participatory mapping to participants through a quarterly newsletter and
the publication of a number of books. It is also working towards the
formation of a “Traditional Community Mapping Network” by facilitating
regional meetings.

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 ANNEX II

In partnership with the Biodiversity Support Program (BSP)

KEMALA,1 JKPP has been running a nation-wide project on “Reforming the
Spatial Planning Policy in Indonesia through the Incorporation of Community
Maps.” Under this project, training of trainers for community mapping was
held in early 1998 in Pontianak. Training included class sessions, fieldwork
and deskwork, along with an introduction on spatial use, remote sensing and
geographical information systems. Following the training of trainers, three
regional trainings were held in Irian Jaya, East Nusa Tenggara and Central
Sulawesi. The success of these trainings has attracted the support of Sylva
Foundation (Canada) for further training, and JKPP has invited training
requests from its member NGOs throughout Indonesia.
Training on geographical information systems (GIS) has been held in
Samarinda, East Kalimantan and Bogor. In the first training, participants were
introduced to basic principles of database, spatial analysis, remote sensing,
computer-based cartography and the operation of several GIS software
programs. The second training aimed to develop several GIS “resource
pools” in West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Maluku and
Irian Jaya, that would be able to supply on-going support to community
mapping groups. The training also supported the development of
communication and information protocols by Pro-BELA and Telapak for
Forest Watch Indonesia. Trips were made to several agencies which are
currently using GIS in implementing projects. Part of the training was to show
how to involve senior members from partner NGOs in using GIS for decision-
making. These participants agreed on the importance of village-based
information systems, and the need to share their experiences in using GIS as a
decision-making tool. JKPP will support this by initiating a list-server through
e-mail.
Policy studies on regional spatial use planning are under way in three
provinces (West and East Kalimantan, and Central Sulawesi). Results of the
studies will contribute to the agenda of policy dialogue organized by
LATIN’s policy programme, a separate project which is also funded by
KEMALA. JKPP helped prepare for the first ever nation-wide congress on
indigenous adat community institutions (Kongres Masyarakat Adat
Nusantara). The congress was organized by a number of NGO networks and

1
The Biodiversity Support Program (BSP) is a consortium of World Wildlife Fund, The
Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute, funded by the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID). BSP has a program in Indonesia, known as
KEMALA, that focuses on building a network of well informed, technically competent,
creative and politically active individuals and non-government organizations concerned
with community-based natural resources management across Indonesia. This description of
JKPP is based on the Project Status Brief of April 1999 brought out by BSP-KEMALA.

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held in March 1999. JKPP organized the facilitators’ workshop as a final

preparation. The congress was attended by more than 250 adat leaders from
25 provinces of Indonesia, including 25 women. They met to develop
common positions to win back the rights of traditional communities to land,
sea and natural resources. They had numerous discussions in small groups and
plenaries, and with the press. These were followed by a series of sessions with
government representatives, a delegation to the House of Representatives and
to the National Commission on Human Rights.
JKPP and other NGO networks are now preparing post-congress
workshops in each region. The objective is to promote the existence and
importance of the Alliance of Adat Communities (AMAN) to members of
adat communities throughout Indonesia. The Secretariat also prints and
widely distributes editions of the newsletter Kabar to members of JKPP and
other groups.

71