Project description

Title: South Sumatra Forest Fire Management Project
Client: European Commission
Country: Indonesia
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Forestry
Overall term: January 2003 – December 2007

Context

In Indonesia – particularly in Borneo and Sumatra - the risk of forest fire is very pronounced. Around 15 million hectares of tropical rain forest and cropping areas were destroyed by fire in the El Niño years of 1982/83 and 1997/98. Thus, in South Sumatra, GTZ International Services (GTZ IS) is implementing a project geared to the prevention and control of forest fires on behalf of the European Commission.

Objective

The objective is to establish a coordinated fire management system in South Sumatra that operates at the province, district, municipal and village level. This system is to involve all interest groups in an attempt to minimise the negative impacts fires have on the environment and society.

Approach

The project promotes private and public fire management organisations and advises local administrations and private companies in the forest sector on matters relating to sustainable natural resource conservation.
Fires are to be monitored centrally using a fire information system. Our input in this context is to identify and prioritise high risk areas, develop solutions and integrate them into existing structures.

GTZ International Services (GTZ IS) is assisting BAPPEDA, the responsible Indonesian Province and District Development Planning Authority, in the application of participatory methods of land-use planning. We are working with villages to help them plan how they use their land, but are also assisting in the establishment of community-based fire management teams and in the search for alternatives to the slash-and-burn technique used in farming. Through training and information campaigns, we hope to prevent and control forest and bush fires. As the project progresses, we will successively hand over responsibility to the people and institutions on site.

Results achieved so far

The GTZ IS team has set up a multi-stakeholder forum for fire management in three districts in southern Sumatra and has improved coordination between the various institutions as regards the prevention and control of forest fires. Fire control courses were conducted in more than 200 villages and equipment has been supplied. The fire information system is up and running, which means that the data and coordinates concerning the latest developments in forest fires are constantly recorded and transferred via satellite. To further improve the fire management system, measures were launched to plan land use in a participatory manner involving all stakeholders. Furthermore, policy consultancy activities have resulted in a clear increase in budget allocations for fire management. The heightened awareness of the importance of this theme is reflected in the reports by national and local media.

Further information

• Link to project’s own website
  South Sumatra Forest Fire Management Project
  www.ssffmp.or.id