In 2019, while conducting a routine patrol, volunteer firefighter Marlizar saw smoke coming from a quarter-hectare of peatland. He sent his colleague to their base in Teluk Maranti village, seven kilometres away, and bravely battled the fire alone.
When Marlizar’s co-worker quickly left to get a large hose device, the 42-year-old tried to extinguish the fire with a tree branch and also contacted the disaster management group. Past experiences had taught him how to protect himself from breathing in smoke. He shared, “My only concern was finding a way to contain the fire’s spread.”
Even with Marlizar’s brave attempts, within an hour the fire had spread to cover five hectares. It took an additional two hours for the hose unit to reach the location, being transported by speed boat and carried by multiple fire-fighters. By then, the peatlands were burning as far as the eye could see.
Due to the thick smoke in Teluk Meranti, schools, airports, and government offices were forced to shut down in the upcoming days and weeks.
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Billions of dollars in losses.
In 2019, Indonesia experienced wildfires that covered an area of 3.1 million hectares, which is larger than Belgium. The smoke from these fires spread to six other countries and released a staggering amount of 604 million tonnes of CO2. These wildfires also affected approximately 900,000 individuals who reported respiratory problems. According to the World Bank, Indonesia suffered a loss of $5.2 billion due to the fires, in addition to the $16 billion loss from even larger fires in 2015.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) predicts that things will only get worse in the future. They anticipate a 14% rise in forest fires worldwide by 2030, caused by a combination of climate change and changes in land use.
Since 2021, a pilot project led by UNEP and funded by USAID has been implemented in Indonesia to enhance fire resistance in three high-risk districts.
It draws inspiration from a “cluster-based” approach towards land management practiced in South Africa—bringing together the knowhow of community fire-fighting brigades like Marlizar’s, the reach of government agencies, and the resources of some of Indonesia’s largest private companies.
Efforts to improve collaboration among community members, government officials, and private landowners in this project may offer valuable insights for other countries grappling with high-risk fire situations.
According to Johan Kief, a program officer at UNEP, forest fires can have devastating effects on society, the environment, and the economy, particularly in peatlands that are rich in carbon. Therefore, it is in everyone’s best interest to prevent these fires from occurring. Indonesia has made ambitious commitments to stop deforestation and lower carbon emissions, and reducing the likelihood of fires is crucial for achieving these goals.
Marlizar, a volunteer firefighter, serves in Teluk Meranti Village, Riau.
At @ddress
Extinguishing the fire at @ddress.
In 2021, UNEP took the initiative to create fire prevention clusters. As a result, during the 2022 dry season, no fire hotspots were observed in the first district chosen for the pilot program, Pulang Pisau in Central Kalimantan. In Teluk Maranti, located in the Pelalawan district of Riau, the number of reported fires decreased from 139 in 2021 to 88 in 2022. Similarly, in the third pilot area of Ogan Komering Ilir in South Sumatra, the number of reported fires reduced from 345 to 109.
After seeing positive outcomes in the first three pilot districts, the project will now be extending to an additional six key districts. The ultimate goal is to implement this approach in all districts across the country.
Bambang Suryaputra, the Head of the Centre for Operation Control at Indonesia’s disaster prevention agency, BNPB, stated that the success of collaborative strategies in preventing fires has been demonstrated by these groupings. By sharing the knowledge of these three districts, Indonesia is not only contributing to their own country but also to other nations with peat-rich areas and high risk of fires in Latin America and southern Africa.
Indonesia ranks third in terms of having the largest forest area globally, following Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, like many other regions on the archipelago that used to be 84% forested in 1900, the journey from the provincial capital Pekabaru to the UNEP pilot district Palalawan highlights the impacts of industrialization and agriculture on shrinking forest cover. The once vibrant sound of the jungle has been replaced by monotonous stretches of oil palm plantations, thin acacia trees, and scattered rubber trees.
Ms. Ernawati, an ex-firefighter volunteer and leader of a farmers’ association in Teluk Meranti, Riau.
Clustered together
At least 14 businesses have been granted concessions in the Palalawan district. One of the biggest companies is APRIL, a paper and pulp producer that has acquired 150,000 hectares of acacia land. According to Mr. Yuneldi, APRIL’s deputy chief of fire and emergency response, most fires in Palalawan occur on community land rather than on company land. However, APRIL has still provided its abundant resources, equipment, and personnel to help the authorities control fires, even when they break out on land outside of the company’s estate.
Using advanced satellite imaging and real-time weather tracking, APRIL’s fire center has access to state-of-the-art resources. This is in stark contrast to the limited tools available to community firefighters like Marlizar and his team. They rely on the feel of the peatland slipping through their fingers to measure its dryness.
The UNEP cluster approach is specifically aimed towards tackling the challenge that impacts everyone by creating a coordinated plan to address the various resource disparities.
Community efforts in Teluk Meranti have led to positive results, with the implementation of warning signs to discourage littering of cigarette butts and starting cooking fires among fishermen and bird hunters. Additionally, farmers now have a greater understanding of the dangers of burning dried peatland.
Source: news.un.org
