National Development Planning Agency BAPPENAS (Bureau of Marine, Aerospace, Environment, Science and Technology)
PLANNING FOR FIRE PREVENTION AND DROUGHT MANAGEMENT PROJECT Asian Development Bank TA 2999-INO July 1998 – March 1999
Legislation and Policy for Fire Prevention and Drought Management
WORKING PAPER 3 Jakarta, April 1998
Annex 2 : Working Paper 3 – Legislation and Policy for Fire Prevention and Drought Management
Table of Contents Page No. Glossary .................................................................................................................................................................................ii Summary ................................................................................................................................................................................v
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................................................1 2. The Eight (Plus One) Basic Laws Governing Forest and Estate Management ....................................................2 3. Existing Regulations for Communities in and around the Forest Estate...............................................................6 4. New Efforts in Community Forestry and Social Agroforestry................................................................................8 4.1 Community Forests and Social Forests .........................................................................................................8 4.2 Recent Programs for Social Forestry ..............................................................................................................9 5. The Regulatory Framework for Forest Fire Prevention ..........................................................................................12 5.1 The Development of Plantations for Oil Palm.............................................................................................19 5.2 The Development of Industrial Plantations Forests: HTI.........................................................................19 5.3 The Grand Million Hectare ‘Gambut’ Scheme in Central Kalimantan .....................................................20 5.4 Prosecution for Forest Damage and Pollution: Recent Court Cases .......................................................21 5.5 The Present Reform Debate...........................................................................................................................22 5.6 Current Agenda for Forestry Reform ...........................................................................................................23 5.6.1 The Provincial Reform Agenda: The Example of East Kalimantan........................................25 6. Proposed Policy Interventions ..................................................................................................................................29 6.1.1 Land Clearance for Conversion to Cultivation.........................................................................29 6.1.2 Land Utilization and Zoning for Effective Fire Prevention.....................................................31 6.1.3 Local Organization for Fire Prevention and Suppression.......................................................32 6.1.4 Fire and Drought Information Systems .....................................................................................33 7. Conclusions..................................................................................................................................................................36 8. Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................37
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Glossary Adat
Custom/Customary Law
Badan Koordinasi Nasional Kebakaran Lahan: BKNKL Badan Koordinasi Nasional Pengendalian Bencana: BAKORNAS PB
National Disaster Management Coordinating Board
Badan Meteorologi dan Geofisika:BMG
Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics
Dinas
Provincial Government Service
Direktorat Reboisasi dan Rehabilitasi Lahan
Directorate General for Reforestation and Land Rehabilitation
Direktorat Penghijauan dan Perhutanan Sosial
Directorate for Regreening and Social Forestry
Forum Komunikasi Kehutanan Masyarakat
Community Forestry Communication Forum
Gambut
Peat soils
Hak atas pemanfaatan wilayah warisan adat
The right to the beneficial use of territory that constitutes a traditional customary inheritance
Hak pengelolaan
Management rights
Hak Pengusahaan Hutan:HPH
(Concession holder) with Utilization Rights to the Forest
Hak Pengusahaan Hutan Tanaman Industri: HPHTI > HTI
(Concession holder) with Utilization Rights for Industrial Plantation Forests
Hak ulayat
Customary rights
Hutan Kemasyarakatan
Societal Forest
Hutan Rakyat
Community Forests
Inhutani
State Forest Enterprise
Izin Pemanfaatan Kayu dari Tanah Milik
Wood Exploitation Permit for Private Lands
Jagawana
Forest guards
Kantor Wilayah: Kanwil
Provincial Government Office
Kawasan dengan Tujuan Istimewa
Special Purpose Area
Keputusan Presiden:Keppres
Presidential Decree
Kewenangan yang sah
Proper authority
Koperasi Unit Desa: KUD
Local Cooperative
Kredit Usaha Konservasi Daerah Aliran Sungai
Credit for Water Shed Conservation
Kredit Usaha Tani
Agricultural Credit through Cooperatives
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Lapangan dengan Tujuan Istimewa
Special Purpose Land
Masyarakat hukum adat
Customary law communities
Peladang berpindah
Shifting cultivators
Pembinaan Masyarakat Desa Hutan Terpadu
Integrated Forest Village Development Program
Pengelolaan
Management
Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi oleh Masyarakat Tradisional
Management of Forest Production by Traditional Societies
Pengelolaan Kawasan Penyangga
Supporting Management for a Local Park Area
Perambah hutan
Forest dwellers
Peraturan Pemerintah
State Regulation
Perhutanan Sosial
Social Forestry
Perkebunan Inti Rakyat:PIR
Nuclear Estate
Perlindungan
Protection
Persetujuan Prinsip Usaha Budi Daya
Agreement in Principle to Carry-out Cultivation
Pertahanan
Defense
Plasma
Small holder component of a nuclear estate
Pos Komando Pelaksana
Executive Command Post
Pusat Pengendalian Kebakaran Hutan dan Lahan:
Center for the Management of Fires in Forests and Fields
Pusat Pengendalian Kebakaran Hutan Nasional:PUSDALKARHUTNAS
National Center for Forest Fire Management
Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah Propinsi: RTRWP
Provincial Spatial Plan
Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah: RTRW
Spatial Plan
Repong damar
Damar-foresting communities
Sub Direktorat Aneka Usaha Kehutanan
Sub Directorate for the Multiple Uses of the Forest
Sub Direktorat Hutan Rakyat
Sub Directorate for Community Forests
Sub Direktorat Perhutanan Sosial
Sub Directorate for Social Forestry
Surat Angkutan Kayu Rakyat:SAKR
Letter of Transport for People’s Timber
Taman Nasional
National Park
Tata Guna Hutan Kesepakatan
Forestry Land Use Plan
Tataguna Lahan Desa Kesepakatan
Village Land Us e Agreements
Tim Koordinasi Pengendalian Kebakaran Lahan
Coordinating Team for the Management of Fires
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Tumpang sari
Mixed crop ally -planting
Undang- undang: UU
Basic Law
Usaha Pelestari Sumber Daya Alam
Conservation of the Natural Resources Effort
Usaha Petani Tetap
Program for the settlement of shifting cultivators
WALHI
National Environmental NGO
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Summary This paper examines policies for the prevention of fires and the management of drought in Indonesia. The paper examines, in order, the following topics: 1) the legal basis for the management of the forest estate; 2) recent regulations on forest communities; 3) recent efforts at community and social forestry; 4) specific ministerial decrees on fire management, 5) the intentions of the current reform agenda at the national and provincial levels, and 6) specific proposals for the reform of the legal framework for the management of forest resources. In the course of this examination, the paper also reviews 7) structural and developmental processes contributing to forest fires in Indonesia and 8) the critical components of Indonesia’s fire prevention management structure. Finally, in the light of the findings of the ADTA team, this paper proposes 9) a number of policy interventions that would improve the Indonesia’s system of fire prevention and drought management.
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RINGKASAN Makalah ini mengkaji kebijaksanaan-kebijaksanaan mengenai kebakaran hutan dan pengelolaan kondisi kekeringan di Indonesia. Topik -topik yang dikaji terdiri dari: 1) Undang-Undang mengenai pengusahaan dan pengelolaan hutan, 2) Peraturan-peraturan baru mengenai masyarakat kehutanan, 3) Upaya-upaya terbaru sehubungan dengan hutan rakyat dan perhutanan sosial, 4) Peraturan pemerintah dan keputusan kementerian mengenai pengelolaan kebakaran hutan, 5) Arah agenda reformasi di tingkat nasional dan propinsi, 6) Usulan-usulan khusus mengenai perubahan/pembaharuan kerangka hukum sehubungan dengan pengelolaan sumber daya kehutanan dan perkebunan. Selain itu, makalah ini juga menyoroti masalah: 7) Proses-proses struktural dan pembangunan/pengembangan sehubungan dengan kebakaran hutan di Indonesia, 8) Komponen-komponen kritis sehubungan dengan pola pengelolaan pengendalian/ penanggulangan kebakaran hutan di Indonesia. Akhirnya dari hasil penemuan/penelitian Tim ADTA, makalah ini mengajukan: 9) Sejumlah usulan kebijaksanaan yang dapat meningkatkan sistem pengendalian/ penanggulangan kebakaran hutan dan pengelolaan masalah kekeringan di Indonesia.
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1.
Introduction This paper examines policies for the prevention of fires and management of drought in Indonesia. It begins by reviewing the legal basis for the management of the forest estate. It also reviews, briefly, recent regulations on forest communities and considers in detail recent efforts at community and social forestry. The paper then goes on to examine specific ministerial decrees, stemming from the framework for forest management, that have been put in place for the purpose of fire prevention. Next it considers the current reform agenda and specific proposals for the reform of the legal framework for the management of forest resources. In the course of this examination, the paper also reviews structural and developmental processes contributing to forest fires in Indonesia and assesses the critical components of Indonesia’s fire prevention management structure. Finally, in the light of the findings of the ADTA team, it proposes and recommends a number of policy interventions that would improve the Indonesia’s system of fire prevention and drought management. Charting national policy in a period of political transition has to consider many possibilities. Past policies no longer provide a reliable guideline for the future. Possibilities for far reaching changes are now being debated at all levels nationally and locally. It is out of this debate that future policies will emerge. In this paper, considerable attention is given to the legal framework for the forest and on the debate over this framework because all policies derive from it. It is this framework that constitutes the formal arena for policy changes.
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2.
The Eight (Plus One) Basic Laws Governing Forest and Estate Management There are eight basic laws (undang-undang) that govern the management of the forest estate plus one basic law on cultivation that has important implications for the estate sector. Basic laws set forth the general legal principles to which subsequent government degrees and regulations refer and from which they derive their legal standing. All basic laws are produced through lengthy legislative and consultative processes; they are acts of parliament, authorized by the President and promulgated by the State Secretariat. These basic laws are the following: The Agrarian Law of 1960: Undang -Undang No 5/1960. This law establishes the legal grounds for different rights in land involving its ownership, use and development. The law was intended to overturn a plurality of local colonial laws based on different adat regimes and to establish in their place a simple, unified national agrarian law for all Indonesia citizens. One of the major problems arising from this law is that although it recognizes the possibility of communal claims to land according to customary right (hak ulayat), it so restricts this possibility as to make such claims virtually impossible to uphold. 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 by Forestry as forest estate. Subsequent decrees (PP No.21/1970 and PP No7/1970) have established various ‘utilization rights’ (hak pengusahaan), the most recent of which is the ‘utilization right for industrial plantation forests’ (hak pengusahaan hutan tanaman industri). The management of land clearance by industrial plantations, relying on these rights of utilization, is critical to a policy of fire prevention. One of the chief problems with this law, as with the Agrarian law, is that 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: UndangUndang R.I. No 4/1982. This law approaches resource management through a basic concept of ecological management (pengelolahan), thus endeavoring to provide the basis for a legal obligation to manage the environment in a sustainable fashion which according to this law must “be included in every license issued by an authorized agency”. Implied in this law is the clear obligation of all licensees given rights to resources by a government agency to participate fully in efforts such fire prevention.
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The Conservation of the Living Environment and its Ecosystems of 1990: Undang-Undang No 5 /1990 Although directed mainly to defined efforts at conservation of the natural environment, Article 9 of this basic law establishes a comprehensive obligation on all parties who hold rights to land or water to exercise a function of ‘protection’ (perlindungan) within their areas. This law also sets forth a range of substantial financial and penal penalties for the violation of the obligations promulgated by this law. The Spatial Use Management Law of 1992: Undang-Undang R.I. No 24/1992. This law follows closely the sense of the Management of the Living Environment Law particularly in reference to ‘management rights over natural resources’. The law sets out the principles for the determination of land use throughout the country, devolving to the provinces the authority to classify land and to organize its functional use. As a result of this law, Forestry’s classification of land identified via the TGHK system must be brought into accord with newly required provincial level spatial plans (Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah: RTRW). The Population Development and Family Welfare Law of 1992: UndangUndang R.I. No 10/1992. This less-often-cited law bears fundamentally on issues relating to forest utilization because it guarantees ‘the right to the beneficial use of territory that constitutes a traditional customary inheritance’ (hak atas pemanfaatan wilayah warisan adat); it also assures that groups settled in a specific area for generations that they may not be ‘subordinated in importance’ (dikalahkan kepentingannya) to newcomers. It also enunciates the principle that it is the role of the government to ‘facilitate the development of vulnerable communities’. The Basic Law Ratifying the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity: Undang-Undang R.I. No 5/1994. This basic law confirms, strengthens and, in some ways, extends both the Management of the Living Environment Law and The Conservation of the Living Environment and its Ecosystems Law by giving an international dimension to Indonesia’s national legal commitment to conservation and forest protection.
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The Basic Law on the Management of the Living Environment of 1997: Undang-Undang R.I. No 23/1997. This law explicitly develops, extends and enhances the earlier Basic Law of the Living Environment issued in 1982 taking into account the more complex nature of environmental management and its international implications. It confirms the government’s fundamental role in managing the environment but it also allows this role to be decentralized. It defines better what constitutes environmental damage and creates the legal underpinnings for environmental audits. It sets out penalties for environmental damage but at the same time encourages settlement resolutions on environmental matters outside the courts. In short, this law is effectively Indonesia’s most fundamental law on the environment. The Legal Framework for Agriculture In Indonesia’s government organization, forestry was originally a directorate within the Ministry of Agriculture. For over fifteen years, it has been an autonomous Ministry. In 1998 by Presidential decree (Keppres No 61/1998) the Directorate of Estate Crops was transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Forestry. Thus Forestry has now become the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops. As a result of these organizational changes and because a substantial number of recent fires occurred not on the forest estate but on land cleared for plantations and tree crops, it is essential that agriculture legislation and regulations be considered in this assessment. In this regard, the relevant and critically important basic law on agriculture is: The Basic Law on Cultivation of 1992: Undang-Undang R. I. No 12/1992 The third chapter of this basic law deals with the clearing and preparation of land, stipulating clearly that management of land must make every effort to prevent the destruction and the pollution of the environment. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS Some general observations may be made in regard to these basic laws. All of the basic laws from the 1980s onward are phrased in a similar manner and overwhelmingly tend to support one another. They are, however, at variance with parts of the earlier Agrarian and Forestry Laws. For many years now there have been calls for revision and reform of the Basic Forestry Law (and by implication, ultimately, the Agrarian Law). A fundamental difference is that all the environmental laws refer to the management (pengelolaan) of natural resources such as those of the forest. The Spatial Use Management Law even refers to ‘management rights’ (hak pengelolaan) over forest resources. Yet neither the Agrarian Law nor the
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Forestry Law recognize such a right. These differences at such a fundamental level are at the heart of the current debate concerning the forest (See Fox 1994). It is clear, however, that at the level of its Basic Laws, the Indonesian government is fully authorized to conduct effective fire prevention and drought management. It is at the level of current decrees and regulations that this is less true. These decrees are issued at different levels from that of the President through various levels of particular national ministries, and again in each individual province. It is this plethora of decrees issued often without sufficient reference or recognition of other decrees and recorded and accumulated separately by different authorities that constitutes the problem. It is difficult in the extreme to have oversight of all relevant decrees on a subject such as land management. In fact, it is the multitude of these regulations and the certainty that more will be issued that leads to laxity in their implementation – either through disregard or simple lack of awareness. In the context of Indonesia’s Basic Laws, it is important to review existing regulations affecting communities ‘in’ and ‘around’ the forest estate.
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3.
Existing Regulations for Communities in and around the Forest Estate The largest government program directed toward communities in and around the forest estate is: The Community Development in Timber Concessions Program: HPH Bina Desa Hutan (No 691/Kpts-II/91) This program, initiated in 1991, directs concession holders to take responsibility for the improvement of the welfare of the populations in and around concessions. It has generated innumerable diagnostic studies of community needs and has focused these analyses within five subprograms whose main goals appear to be the promotion of sedentary agriculture and the development of local infrastructure. Regarded as particularly repressive is the joint decree issued by the Minister of Agriculture, Transmigration and Internal Affairs on ‘forest dwellers’ (perambah hutan) (who -- along with transmigrants -- come under the responsibility of the Minister for Transmigration) and shifting cultivators (peladang berpindah). Joint Decree on Forest Dwellers and Shifting Cultivators (No 480/KptII/93) This decree identifies forest dwellers and shifting cultivators as ‘destroyers of the forests and disturbers of the balance of nature’. The decree assigns responsibilities among different ministries for the resettlement of these populations outside the forest areas. More than twenty years of large-scale transmigration to Sumatra and Kalimantan have settled large populations on land not always suitable for, nor capable of, permanent, sustainable cultivation. Many of these populations have adopted a rapacious form of shifting agriculture by following the road system created for logging and re-clearing logged areas by burning for the purposes of quick cultivation. The shifting agriculture adopted by these local transmigrants is often a variance –and in conflict -- with that of long-established groups within the forests. By summarily stigmatizing both groups, by not recognizing problems created by previous government programs and by attempting to solve complex problems by radical removal, this particular decree has been the appropriate target of virtually all parties calling for forestry reform. Of a similar sort is the ministerial decree issued by Ministry of Forestry on the use of forest products by customary communities:
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Forestry Decree on the Use of Forest Products by Customary Law Communities with Forest Concession Areas (No 251/Kpts-II/1993) This particular decree embodies several contradictions. It is one of the few (perhaps the only decree) to acknowledge (the possibility of) the existence of customary law communities (masyarakat hukum adat) in forest concession areas; it also acknowledges (the possibility of) their traditional communal rights to both timber and non-timber products. However, it 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 for the activities from the local head of forestry. It also restricts the use of these products for local consumption, thus refusing to recognize that such communities have long gathered products such as rattan or honey for commercial sale. Like most other forestry decrees, this decree embodies the assumption that forests are primarily for timber extraction and that such limited extraction can only be carried out, in law, by concession holders who may not be interfered with. This formal mind-set has up until now 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. This decree, along with decree No 480, is the particular target of most reformers.
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4.
New Efforts in Community Forestry and Social Agroforestry
4.1
Community Forests and Social Forests Since 1995, the government has undertaken a number of efforts to encourage the role of local populations in forest management and to establish programs of social agroforestry. Within the Direktorat General for Reforestation and Land Rehabilitation (Direktorat Reboisasi dan Rehabilitasi Lahan: Dirjen RRL), there is the Directorate for Regreening and Social Forestry (Direktorat Penghijauan dan Perhutanan Sosial: Dir PPS). This directorate is subdivided into three Subdirectorates:1) Sub-Directorate for Community Forests (Subdir Hutan Rakyat: Subdir HR), 2) Sub -Directorate for Social Forestry (Subdir Perhutanan Sosial:Subdir PS) and 3) Sub-Directorate for the Multiple Uses of the Forest (Subdir Aneka Usaha Kehutanan:Subdir AUK). Each of these Subdirectorates carries out distinct functions. There exists an important distinction between what is translated here as ‘Community Forests’ (Hutan Rakyat) and ‘Social Forestry’ (Perhutanan Sosial). Throughout Indonesia there are areas of forest on land owned by local populations that has not been classified as part of the forest estate. Ever since the Basic Forestry Law was passed, forest communities defined within the forest estate have endeavored to have their locality reclassified as belonging outside this estate. For those who have succeeded and those originally defined outside the forest estate, the Ministry of Forest maintains its current Sub-directorate (Subdir HR). Individual smallholders’ involvement in tree-crop planting has been fundamental throughout Indonesian history. Increasingly the Dirjen RRL has been called upon such smallholders to participate in tree planting outside the forest estate. There is a Community Forest Credit Scheme (Kredit Hutan Raykat) that provides smallholders up to Rp 2 million per hectare, at a subsidized 6% annual interest, to plant trees on their own land. The problem with this scheme is that farmers must group together to create a total planting area of 900 hectare to qualify and they must find a competent business partner to administer the loan. A similar credit scheme is also available to smallholders for conservation tree-planting in catchment areas (Kredit Usaha Konservasi Daerah Aliran Sungai: KUKDAS). The Ministry of Forestry also encourages farmers to avail themselves of the standard agricultural credit packet scheme, (Kredit Usaha Tani: KUT), through the Cooperatives (KUD), to plant trees along with agricultural crops. Until 1997 the procedures to allow these populations to sell their timber was not regularized. Regularization has been partially achieved by Ministerial decree (No 20/Kpts-II/1997). This decree created what is called a ‘Wood-Exploitation Permit for Private Lands’ (Izin Pemanfaatan Kayu dari Tanah Milik: IPKTM). Even with this permission, the seller still needs a ‘Letter of Transport for People’s
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Timber’ (Surat Angkutan Kayu Rakyat: SAKR) which is sometimes more difficult to arrange than the IPK permission itself. Much of this timber is used for sawn wood for local consumption because most small operations have little access to the larger market. Efforts to improve the role of smallholders in tree-crop planting are not confined to the Ministry of Forestry. The Ministry of Agriculture is even more heavily involved in such efforts. According the Bureau of Statistics Yearbook (1996), smallerholders account for 3.6 million hectare of coconut trees, 2.9 million hectare of rubber trees, 1.1 million hectare of coffee trees, 760,000 hectare of oil palm and more than 410,000 hectare of cashew and cocoa trees. (BPS 1997: 212; Potter and Lee 1998:10). In addition to providing new seedlings and tree-stocks, the Ministry of Agriculture has promoted the planting of oil palm on a large scale in association with various nuclear estate schemes known as Perkebunan Inti Rakyat: PIR with smallholders (referred to as plasma) cultivating areas within the estate and bringing their product for crushing to the estate factory. Local criticism has been leveled at these schemes because of their monopolistic control of labor and product. The Ministry of Agriculture also has programs to settle shifting cultivators and to get them to convert upland fields and alang-alang grasslands to permanent tree crop cultivation. One such program is called the Permanent Farmer Effort (Usaha Petani Tetap) and another is the Conservation of the Natural Resources Effort (Usaha Pelestari Sumberdaya Alam ).
4.2
Recent Programs for Social Forestry Java has long been an area for agroforestry. Some of the earliest teak plantations were established on Java during the Dutch colonial period by ‘transmigrating’ villagers dispossessed of their lands to Lampung. There are well-documented cases of villagers who have returned to Java to work as participant-cultivators in ‘mixed crop ally-planting’ (tumpang sari) on forest lands that they originally owned. At present, such continuing programs on Java are classed Integrated Forest Village Development Programs (Pembinaan Masyarakat Desa Hutan Terpadu: PMDHT). They are being developed further to allow participantcultivators greater benefits from non-timber products and from a choice of trees they are allowed to plant for their own profit. The rights to timber are excluded in all such programs. (See Fay and Foresta 1998 and Sirata and Fay 1998 for a discussion of this and other programs discussed here.). Another program of social forestry, in its early stage of development, is the Community Forestry Program (Hutan Kemasyarakatan: HKm) begun by
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Ministerial decree in 1995 (No 662/Ktps-II/1195). The program’s intentions are to enlist the support of local communities in forest replanting by a combination of timber trees (70%) and other multi-use trees (30%). Once established, local agreements are valid for 20 years. These agreements are to involve either Inhutani or Perhutani in reforestation in cooperation with local communities who are to supply the labor. Like most PMDHT schemes, however, this program does not yet give participants rights to the timber of the trees they themselves plant. Instead they are given rights to non-timber products such as fruit. Another potentially important program, proposed for development but still in preliminary formation and without, as yet, complete guidelines, is the program for the Management of Forest Production by Traditional Societies (Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi oleh Masyarakat Tradisional: PHPMT). This program would involve NGOs to work in partnership with local communities for the development and utilization of timber resources. Currently there are 12 locations in the process of possible formation under this program. There also exist a variety of arrangements with local populations in areas surrounding national parks (taman nasional), all of which fall within a program for the supporting management of the local park area (Pengelolaan Kawasan Penyangga: KP). From a regulatory perspective, the most important recent innovation for community forestry has been the designation by ministerial decree (No. 47/KtpsII/1998) of an area of approximately 29,000 hectares (within a wider forest area of 1,237,208 hectares in West Lampung consisting of protection and limited utilization forest) as a ‘Special Purpose Area’ (Kawasan dengan Tujuan Istimewa: KdTI). The special purpose designated by this decreee is to allow damar-foresting communities (repong damar) who extract high-value resins from their managed forests to continue to maintain their customary economic pursuits. The regulation recognizes these groups as adat communities (masyarakat hukum adat). Technically this decree develops a variation on a regulatory device (Lapangan dengan Tujuan Istimewa: LdTI) long used by Perhutani to protect sacred sites, particularly graves, within forest areas on Java. The status of the forest area as a whole is not altered by this designation; the land cannot change hands, nor can its purpose be varied. The Ministry of Forestry must continue to monitor the area for violations of forest regulations. On the whole, it can be said that within the constraining framework of the Basic Forestry Law, the Ministry of Forestry has begun to develop various possibilities for social and community forestry. For many, indeed probably for most forest communities, these efforts are still regarded as inadequate. There is thus sufficient and widespread discontent which can and has manifested itself over the past several years. Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management in Indonesia Version 2, 28-May-02 \\oercdserver \97311\Report\Annex2\97311 WP 3 - Working Legislati on & Policy.doc
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5. The Regulatory Framework for Forest Fire Prevention The regulatory framework for forest fire prevention is set out in a series of decrees that refer for their authority to the various basic laws, particularly the Basic Forestry Law. Two of these decrees, referred to here as State Regulations (Peraturan Pemerintah:PP), were issued by the President; several are decrees issued by the Minister of Forestry. One important decree, establishing a National Coordination Agency for Fires, was issued by the Minister of the Environment. This discussion will review these decrees in the order that they were issued by different authorities: State Regulation on Forest Planning: Peraturan Pemerintah No 33/1970 This early decree, issued shortly after the Basic Forestry Law, mandated the spatial planning and demarcation of the different functional categories of the forest together with an inventory and survey of resources for use and conservation. Article 1(7) gives precedence to conservation over utilization in all cases where demarcation is not yet determined. At this time, Forestry was included within the Ministry of Agriculture and therefore this decree assigns the task of spatial planning to the Minister of Agriculture. State Regulation on Forest Protection: Peraturan Pemerintah No 28/1985 This decree offers a mixed bundle of regulations, many of which, in retrospect, appear contradictory. Of particular importance are Articles 10 and 15 that give primary responsibility to provinces for the preparation of regulations for the prevention and suppression of forest fires and to provincial forestry officials for carrying out the protection of areas in and around the forest estate. Concession holders are also given responsibilities for forest protection. Article 10 forbids the burning of forests without ‘proper authority’ (kewenangan yang sah) but the commentary on this article in the accompanying explanatory document admits the possibility of legitimate burning for land clearance. 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 this article perpetuates the false assertion that there are no local populations in the forest, only populations around (sekitar) the forest. Guidelines for the Protection of Utilization Forest: Minister of Forestry No 523/Kpts-II/1993 The guidelines in this decree are directed toward issues raised in the Article 15 of the earlier PP No 28/85 regarding the responsibilities of holders of government forest concessions (HPH). The main purpose of these guidelines is to make it a
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responsibility for 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. One of the principal functions of this Satpam PH is to prevent and suppress forest fires. Satpam PH are supposed to operate under the orders of the camp manager but are supposed to be trained under the Directorate-General of Forest Protection and Conservation and coordinated by forestry service officials at the provincial level (Dinas Kehutanan Tingkat I). Establishment of a National Center for Forest Fire Management: Minister of Forestry No 188/Kpts-II/1995 This decree takes its reference from PP No 28/85 citing Article 3. It establishes a National Center for Forest Fire Management (PUSDALKARHUTNAS) in the Ministry of Forestry headed by the Minister, with the Director General of Forest Protection and Conservation (Perlindungan Hutan dan Pelestarian Alam: PHPA) as chairman, the Director of Forest Protection as Executive, and the Head of Sub -Directorate for Forest Fires as Secretary. This Center was established to carry out all operational policy formulation, preparation of policy guidelines, national coordination of fire prevention, management of forest fire prevention programs, and planning of operational needs and requirements. By this decree, similar centers were to be established by Governor’s decree in all provinces. These centers (Pusdalkarhutnas Tingkat I) were each to have their own implementing Fire Brigade Unit. This decree was issued on 31 March 1995. On the same day, the Minister of the Environment established a separate National Coordination Agency for Fires. Establishment of a National Coordination Agency for Fires: Minister of the Environment No KEP-18/MENLH/3/1995 This brief three-page decree created the National Coordination Agency for Fires (BKNKL) that reports to and is responsible to the Minister of Environment. This Agency has been given a complex and very inclusive executive committee. The Director General of Forest Protection and Conservation (PHPA) in Forestry is its executive chairman; its deputy chair is Deputy for the Management of Environmental Pollution in BAPEDAL and thus within the Ministry of Environment. Other members of the committee are drawn from the Ministries of Agriculture, Mining and Energy, Transmigration, Social Services, as well as other agencies and echelons, including BAPPENAS, the Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics (BMG), and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Badan Search and Rescue National: BASARNAS). Most importantly, the Secretary for this Agency is Director for Management of Damage to the Environment in BAPEDAL and its Secretariat is located in BAPEDAL. Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management in Indonesia Version 2, 28-May-02 \\oercdserver \97311\Report\Annex2\97311 WP 3 - Working Legislati on & Policy.doc
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Like the Forestry decree, this decree also mandated the creation of similar coordinating units at the provincial level, to be established by Governor’s decree and known as the Coordinating Team for Management of Fires (Tim Koordinasi Pengendalian Kebakaran Lahan: TKNPKL). It is essential to realize that this Agency, formed on the same day as the corresponding center in Forestry, has – technically at least -- a wider jurisdiction than that of Forestry. Its reference is to all fires in all fields (kebakaran lahan) throughout Indonesia. The Forestry Center’s jurisdiction covers only the Forest Estate. Not long after the establishment of these separate agencies, the Forestry Fire Center’s name was strategically changed to the Center for the Management of Fires in Forests and Fields (Pusat Pengendalian Kebakaran Hutan dan Lahan.) The existence of these two fire management agencies within Forestry and within 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. Directions for Efforts for the Prevention and Suppression of Forest Fires: Minister of Forestry No 260/Kpts-II/1995 This decree also derives from PP 28/1985 citing Article 10. Its contribution is to set forth in some detail how Forestry considers management and coordination to occur at the local level. While still maintaining the legal claim that local populations live ‘around’ and not in the forest, 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 head of Agriculture, Transmigratio n, the Bureau of Environment and the provincial government. A similar form of coordination is supposed to be maintained at the national level by the Director General for Forest Protection through the National Center for Forest Fires in coordination with the same national agencies as at the local level, including BAPEDAL. No mention is made in this decree of the National Coordination Agency for Fires. Given the nature of these various national ministerial decrees, especially those mandating different agencies, units or centers, 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. Thus, to give an example, the Governor of Jambi in an attachment (No. 399/1989) to a decree (No 6/1988), first established a provincial Center for Forest Fire Management (PUSDAL) reporting directly to the Governor with the Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management in Indonesia Version 2, 28-May-02 \\oercdserver \97311\Report\Annex2\97311 WP 3 - Working Legislati on & Policy.doc
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Head of the provincial Forestry Department as Deputy Chairman and the Head of the Forestry Service as Executive Chairman. Executive Command Posts (Pos Komando Pelaksana: POSKOLAK) were established at the kabupaten level, each responsible to the Bupati but headed by the corresponding officer in the Forestry Service. Under each POSKOLAK were a number of SATLAK formed at the kecamatan level and involving village officials, other government officers including the military and the relevant SATPAM HPH in the district. These SATLAK reported to their POSKOLAK, which reported back to the PUSDAL and ultimately to the Governor. In a later decree (No 6/1991), the Governor of Jambi reaffirmed and clarified this structure setting out responsibilities at each level of command and the responsible officers at each of these levels. Later still, in another decree (No 240/1996) issued after the establishment of the National Center for Fires in Forests and Fields (PUSDAL KARHUTLA), the Governor adopted a national terminology to fit Jambi’s existing structures. The provincial organization structure remained the same as that of the earlier PUSDAL. Similar structures were retained for the Kabupaten level, POSKOLAKDALKAHUTLA and the Kecamatan level SATLAK. Jambi presents a model of compliance with the national level regulations, at least as far as Forestry is concerned. The province, however, does not yet seem to have created the corresponding BAPEDAL Coordinating Team for Management of Fires (Tim Koordinasi Pengendalian Kebakaran Lahan: TKNPKL). At first appearance, other provin ces seem to follow similar fire fighting models but in fact every province, as is its right, has a somewhat different structure. Lampung and Kalimantan Selatan have a two level structure: PUSDALKARLAHUTDA at provincial level and SATLAK at the kabupaten le vel. Aceh has a PUSDALKARHUTDA with Tim SATLAK and Brigade Kebakaran Hutan. Sumatra Selatan has a structure like that of Jambi with a three-tiered structure of PUSDAL > POSKOLAK >SATLAK but a different SATGAS DAMKARHUT within its SATLAK for concession holders (HPH, HTI). It is worth pointing out that whatever the organization of these different formal structures may be, they are made up exclusively of officials who already hold formal line-positions such as Governor, Bupati, Camat, Head of Forestry (Kanwil), Head of Forestry (Dinas), within the local government. These forest fire prevention structures therefore represent another configuration of the same officials who meet regularly in other capacities at other times. National Disaster Management Coordinating Board: Badan Kordinasi Bencana Alam Nasional :BAKORNAS PB The National Disaster Coordinating Board was established and reconstituted by a succession of Presidental decrees (Keppres No 256/1996; Keppres No Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management in Indonesia Version 2, 28-May-02 \\oercdserver \97311\Report\Annex2\97311 WP 3 - Working Legislati on & Policy.doc
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28/1979; Keppres No 43/1990). Its brief is broadly defined to cover all natural disaster throughout the country. Because the recent fires in 1997-98 were on such a large scale in so many different parts of the country, BAKORNAS was called upon to take action. BAKORNAS operates under the chairmanship of the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare and includes on its Board: the Ministers for 1) Social Affairs, 2) Internal Affairs, 3) Health, 4) Public Works, 5) Transport, and 6) the Commander of the Armed Forces, 7) the Director General for Social Assistance in Social Affairs plus the Governor(s) of any province affected by natural disaster. It should be noted that neither Forestry nor BAPEDAL are represented on this Board. BAKORNAS’s mandate is to formulate policy and guidelines for disaster management and to coordinate and supervise such disaster management when disasters occur with the capacity to bring in international assistance if required. It is designed to operate from the national to the provincial level. Although fire prevention and suppression falls within its ambit, BAKORNAS is not per se a fire prevention or a fire-fighting agency. It acts in this capacity only in extreme cases. If fire prevention were adequately dealt with by another agency and fires were kept to a minimum, BAKORNAS would not need to be called upon at all. Decrees on Fire Prevention issued by the Director General for Forest Protection and Conservation (PHPA) Since 1994, the Director General PHPA has issued a series of technical instructions and specific guidelines. These are listed here for reference. §
No 243/Kpts/DJ-VI/1994: Technical instructions for fire prevention and forest fire management in concession and other use area.
§
No 244/Kpts/DJ-VI/1994: Technical instructions for suppressing forest fires.
§
No 245/Kpts/DJ-VI/1994: Fixed procedures for the use of fire-fighting equipment.
§
No 246/Kpts/DJ-VI/1994: Instruction for making and erecting signposts for fire prevention.
§
No 247/Kpts/DJ-VI/1994: Instructions for standarized procedures (including software) for the prevention and management of forest fires.
§
No 248/Kpts/DJ-VI/1994: Fixed procedures for preventing and managing forest fires.
§
No 81/Kpts/DJ-VI/1995: Instructions for carrying out the management of fires in forests and fields.
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§
No 46/Kpts/DJ-VI/1997: Technical instructions on preparedness and safety in forest fire suppression.
§
No 47/Kpts/DJ-VI/1997: Technical instructions on managed burning.
§
No 48/Kpts/DJ-VI/1997: Komando System for Fire Suppression
The overwhelming impression of these decrees – and almost certainly there are more that are not listed here – is that fire prevention can be managed and directed by a detailed set of specific rules and procedures. (Decree 246/1994, for example, specifies the exact size and shape of axes to be used during fo rest fires as well as sickles and other such equipment. Decree No 48/1997 provides clear flow chart diagrams on how hand pump operators and others including mobile fire groups are to relate to one another in a ‘Fire Command’ system). 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 improvisation. Decree No 47/1997 is of a separate interest because it attempts to set rules required for managed burning. In all cases, permission was needed: 1) for areas of more than 100 hectares, permission had to come from the PUSDAL KARHUTDA Tingkat I; 2) for areas from 11 to 100 hectares, this permission had to come from the SATLAK of the area concerned; and 3) for areas from 3 to 10 hectares, permission is required of the village head. This decree was accompanied by further detailed instruction, including drawings, which were unlikely to have been widely disseminated. This decree was rescinded in 1998 (see below). Draft Guidelines for the Protection of the Forest against Burning The Ministry of Forestry has been preparing an extended set of guidelines for forest fire prevention but has not yet issued these guidelines by ministerial decree. The guidelines exist in draft form and currently run to some sixty pages of instructions. Although phrased in general terms, these guidelines, if they are released as presently drafted, will represent a significant change in the approach to forest management. For example, the draft guidelines develop the following ideas: §
managed forest burning as an integral part of forest management,
§
recognition of the role of fire in certain savannah ecosystems,
§
managed burning based on criteria: location, weather conditions, dryness index.
§
close coordination of activities in accordance with the Bureau of Meteorologi (BMG),
§
development of special measures during periods of extreme seasonal dryness,
§
extensive activities to reduce the accumulation of forest waste,
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§
recognition and facilitation of traditional activities of forest dwellers including allowing them to take waste wood for their own use,
§
enlisting the support of local leaders in forest management,
§
recognition of the need for further training of personnel in forest management and fire prevention.
It is too early to be assured that these guidelines, as currently drafted, will be accepted and promulgated. If they are, they could mark a step forward in the direction of forest fire prevention. Regulations on Zero-Burning issued by the Directorate of Estate Crops Until 1995, the Directorate of Estate Crops allowed (and indeed seems to have encouraged) burning to clear areas of primary and secondary forest and wooded undergrowth (areal hutan primer/sekunder dan semak belukar) as a “relatively easier, faster and cheaper” (relatip lebih mudah, cepat dan murah) method than any other while at the same time, it forbade burning on fields and alang-alang areas. A distinction between these two categories of land was often, however, difficult to maintain. In 1995, this policy was changed with the issuance of a new set of technical instructions acknowledging the problems of previous policy and establishing in its place a policy of plantation land clearance without burning. The formal change was embodied in the following decree of Director General of Estate Crops: Technical Instructions for the Opening of Land without Burning for the Development of Plantations: No. 38/KB110/SK/DJ.BUN/ 05.95 Since the release of this new policy document, the Director-General of Estate Crops and the Minister of Agriculture have repeatedly instructed plantations owners on these land clearance requirements. Two plantations groups, PT. London Sumatra and PT Mitra Austral Sejahtera were regarded by the Ministry of Agriculture as model proponents of the most effective zero-burning methods and were the focus of an expose hosted by BAPEDAL and the Director General in September 1997. Since September 1997, the Director General has issued more implementation orders particularly directed to provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan. On the 17 September, the Minister of Agriculture issued an instruction (No. KB.550/341/Mentan/IX/1997) to officers of the provincial plantation services for the temporary suspension of all land clearing and the reporting of any plantation engaging in burning. This same instruction was reissued separately (No KB.550/342/Mentan/IX/1997) to the owners of all plantation on Sumatra and Kalimantan.
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As is evident from what occurred subsequently, these instructions had relatively little effect. In 1997, a total of 133 estate plantation were given formal warnings and were given fifteen days to file a local police investigation report (berita acara pemeriksaan:BAP). 176 industrial forest plantations were similarly warned. The overwhelming majority of these plantations denied involvement in fire-burning and instead blamed fires on local smallholders. Forestry went further and suspended numerous Wood Exploitation Permits (IPK) but within two months reinstated them. So far attempts to prosecute those who violated these instructions have not had much success in the courts (See below along with proposed policy changes to deal with this problem discussed later under the section, Policy Interventions.)
5.1
The Development of Plantations for Oil Palm Since the 1990s, plantations of oil palm have been promoted on a grand scale throughout the out-islands of Indonesia. In the 1980s many such plantations received government support; more recently, most of these plantations have been self-financed. Foreign investment, particularly from Malaysia, has provided a prominent component of this finance. 5.5 million hectare in Sumatra and Kalimantan were targeted for development by the year 2000 (of which 2.2 million hectare were reportedly allocated to foreign companies). Because of the influx of foreign companies, a ban was placed on further foreign investment in Sumatra in early 1997 but this ban was lifted in January 1998. Exact figures on current oil palm planting vary. One-third of oil palm has been planted in the last five year (BPS 1997:112). One estimate sets the area already planted at 2.2 million hectares of which as much as 1.5 is already in production. Another estimate sets planting slightly higher at 2.4 million hectares of which approximately 443,000 hectares is held by state -run enterprises; 824,000 is controlled by smallholders, and the rest, 1.133 million hectares, is owned by large plantations. The major conglomerates involved in these plantations are 1) Sinar Mas, 2) Astra, 3) the Salim Group, and 4) Raja Garuda Mas. These same conglomerates are also involved in timber plantations. (See Potter and Lee 1998:6) In all reports on the fires of 1997-98, extensive clearing of land for oil palm planting was cited as a major cause of the fires and haze. A ban on all clearing of land was issued during the crisis but this had little immediate effect. Since that time, several large plantations have been prosecuted for their actions. (See below).
5.2
The Development of Industrial Plantations Forests: HTI Industrial Plantations Forests were formally established as a variant form of HPH (ie, HPHTI) by State Degree in 1990 (PP No 7/1990) and regulated by a
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number of initial Forestry decrees (KPH No 228/Kpts-II/1990; KPH No 83/Kpts-V/1991; KPH No 5/--/1990). They consist of partnership between a private company and a designated state company (one of the five P.T. Inhutani enterprises). They are to be located only in‘unproductive’ Production forest; utilization rights are for 35 years (instead of the HPH 20 year concession); and it is strictly forbidden to hold a HTI concession covered by a HPH concession, though it is possible – and not uncommon – to convert HPH land to HTI land. Two kinds of plantations were established; 1) ‘pure’ plantations and ‘integrated transmigration’ plantations. The most controversial feature of these plantations is their advantageous financing with funds from Reforestation Fund (See Fox 1994:6 -9). The stated intention of these plantations was to transform degraded land into productive resource areas managed in a sustainable manner. HTI are given priority in a large area of limited or permanent production forest. Much of the planting in HTI is for pulp production and has consisted of the predominant planting of an introduced Australian tree species, Acacia mangium (but also of Pinus mercusii and Pasaserianthes falcataria known as sengon). Exact figures of the planting are difficult to determine. Indications are that approximately 520,00 hectares were planted by 1995 with an additional 320,000 in 1996/97 and a further 311,000 hectares planned for 1998/99. This would bring the total area planted in HTI to over a million hectare by the year 2000. During 1997-98, local HTI plantations, along with oil plantations were accused of extensive clearing by burning throughout Sumatra and Kalimantan. The planting of Acacia mangium has introduced new critical factor in forest fire management. In many areas of immature Acacia , alang-alang grass may provide the initial tinder for such fires. This tree burns differently from Indonesian Dipterocarp species and requires different fire management skills. As Acacia planting increases, Indonesia must prepare itself for an Australian-type forest fire. Since HTI involve Inhutani with private enterprises, the costs involved to production current plantation investments will need to be proportionally shared.
5.3
The Grand Million Hectare ‘Gambut’ Scheme in Central Kalimantan In the mid-1990s, President Suharto called for the clearing of a million hectare of swampland, mainly on peat soils, in Central Kalimantan for the intensification of rice production. The area was to be drained and prepared with irrigation channels and transmigrants were to be brought in to plant the needed rice at a cost reported to run to $2-3 billion dollars. Approximately 400,000 hectare were cleared and drained making this area immediately susceptible to burning during the recent El Niño drought.
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The clearing of peat whether in this grand scheme or elsewhere for plantations presents distinct forest fire management problems. Peat fires burn differently from ground-level scrub fires or forest fires. Quantitatively and qualitatively they produce a different kind of smoke from that of ordinary above ground fires. Peat soil fires were a major contributor to the problems of fire and haze experienced during 1997-98. Not only did peat soils burn extensively in Sumatra and Kalimantan; they also burned extensively in the southern parts of Irian Jaya, contributing over 50% of all acrid haze experienced during the crisis (See TA: Packman and Smith). As a result of extensive fires in the ‘gambut’ scheme areas, this extravagant project appears now to have been halted and may be quietly abandoned. How and whether this land is to be restored and reforested is as yet not determined.
5.4
Prosecution for Forest Damage and Pollution: Recent Court Cases Recently, in an important test case, the Ministry of Forestry, through the Directorate of Estate Crops, took the owners of plantation PT Torus Ganda in Riau to court for the destruction of the forest by burning, which carried a maximum penalty of five years jail and a fine of up to Rp 100 million. BAPEDAL was directly involved providing expert witnesses to testify in the case. This expert evidence was, it was claimed, not regarded by the court with any seriousness and on 23 October, the court in Riau freed the plantation owners of any charges of destroying or burning the forests. Another indicative case was brought by the environmental NGO, Walhi, against eleven plantations in South Sumatra for their part in the causing the fires in 1997. Citing Article 38 in the most recent Basic Law on the Environment (UU No 23/1997), Wahli demanded Rp 2 trillion in damages to be paid to the State to rehabilitate the areas damaged by fire. Detailed GIS evidence was introduced in the case but was thrown out as inadmissible by the court in Palembang, leaving eyewitness testimony as the only basis for the prosecution. In this case, two of the eleven plantations were found guilty – PT Musi Hutan Persada and PT Inti Remaja Concern – and were directed to pay court costs, to correct their fire management immediately, and to establish a fire brigade. These cases could well have far-reaching consequences and may seriously undermine other attempts at further prosecutions. Even more significantly, the first case calls into question the capacity of the government to issue instructions with sanctions against environmental damage if these instructions can not be properly enforced in the courts.
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5.5
The Present Reform Debate In the present reform environment, considerable attention has focused on a range of changes to forestry regulations, including possible reforms to the Basic Forestry Law because of the law’s evident incapacity to provide for the rights of forest communities. As defined by the Basic Forestry Law, the forest estate comprises over 70% of Indonesia’s landed territory, yet by this law, millions of people living within this forest estate have been legally dispossessed of their rights to land and livelihood. Moreover over several decades, additional populations have been shifted to areas within or near the forest estate under government transmigration schemes. Many of these people have moved from their original settlements and have begun to use areas of the forest estate. Little or no legal differential exists between long established populations located within the forest estate and those populations who have entered the forest estate relatively recently. It is widely agreed that if the populations living within the forest estate are accorded no rights to its resources, they have no stake in protecting and conserving these resources and may even feel themselves justified in destroying the resources they have been denied. The rights of concession holders to utilize forest (and thus to exploit its resources), as determined by the Basic Forestry Law in the name of ‘national interest’, overwhelm and extinguish any possible claims to land made via customary (adat) laws which invoke hak ulayat, a communal right implied as a possibility within the Agrarian Law. The violation of natural justice created by the Basic Forestry Law has prompted many reformers to call for its repeal. The Basic Forestry Law has in fact been under draft reconsideration for several years, long before the present political upheaval. The present Minister, Dr Muslimin Nasution, has indicated that he would like to conserve the natural resources of the forest while at the same time allowing some of these resources to be used more for community purposes. He would also like to develop the estate sector to meet export needs by improving the efficiency of local involvement. He has formed a Reform Team that is in fact working on revisions to the Basic Law. This group presented and discussed some of their current formulations at a seminar held at the Ministry of Forestry on the 2nd and 3rd of November 1998. The key to their reformulation is the legal introduction of the concept of ecologically-based resource management (pengelolaan), a concept which is entirely absent from the 1967 Law but is strongly upheld by the latter Basic Laws on the environment. This approach stresses the multiple uses of forest resources including the importance of forests as a ‘carbon sink’ and introduces various levels – national, regional, watershed and local management – for consideration in forest activities. The approach recognizes ‘the reality’ of the existence of populations in and around the forest. It accords these populations a use right (hak
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guna) to forest resources. This ‘right of use’ (hak guna) is defined to include both ‘the right to manage’ (hak mengelola) and the ‘right to use or benefit from’ (hak memanfaatkan) these resources but also places upon them the responsibility to conserve these resources. It divides Indonesia into five regions for management and production: A) Sumatra, B) Java and Bali, C) Kalimantan, D) Sulawesi and E) Eastern Indonesia (NTB, NTT, East Timor, Maluku, and Irian Jaya.) It defines different forest management units according to function and sets out principles for management: 1) the need for a long-term management perspective, 2) the multiple benefits of the forest, 3) the importance of general interests, 4) the interaction between communities and the forest, 5) the involvement of a forest product industry, and 6) the importance of (conservation for) future generations. The whole of these changes is complex, far ranging and highly contested within and outside of Forestry. There can be no certainty on what will emerge from this process of reform. In any case, during the present political transition period, it is extremely unlikely that all the necessary consultative and legislative processes to revise the Basic Forestry Law can be carried to completion. Indonesia has never before revised a Basic Law and certainly not a law of this fundamental importance. The passage of revisions to the Basic Forestry Law must therefore await the succeeding government and will thus be a task for early next century. To meet the demands for reformation and to improve the management of the forest, efforts have focused on state regulations or ministerial decrees. The Minister’s Reform Team has been meeting regularly to consider numerous issues of reform. Other groups consisting of members of universities and NGOs have formed at the national and provincial levels to investigate, discuss and promote forest management reform. Perhaps the most important of these independent groups is the Community Forestry Communication Form (Forum Komunikasi Kehutanan Masyarakat), some of whose members overlap with the Minister’s advisory group. It is impossible to summarize here all that is currently being discussed. At best, it is possible 1) to focus briefly on some of the most salient matters on the current reform agenda and 2) to consider proposals for reform in one particularly province, that of East Kalimantan.
5.6
Current Agenda for Forestry Reform A number of general directions for the reformation of forest policy were set out in the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) between the IMF and the government of Indonesia. These include 1) the reduction of export taxes on logs, sawn timber and rattan and their repla cement with resource rent taxes; 2) the drafting of regulations for the implementation of the new environmental law of 1997; 3) the review and reform of timber concessions to allow increased stumpage fees, the auctioning of concessions, the extension of the concession period (HTI have 35 years whereas HPH have only 20 year leases); the use of
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performance bonds; 4) the reduction of land conversion targets; and 5) the use of the Reforestation Fund as it was originally intended. Changes are currently being considered in regard to the State Regulation that established the HPH (PP 21/1970), the State Regulation that awarded rights to harvest the forest (PP18/1975) and to the later State Regulation that established the HTI (PP7/1970) to allow, as agreed with the IMF, the auctioning of HPH cessions, the lengthening of the concession period to 35 years, and implementation of performance bonds. In addition, these regulations are being reviewed to provide for the involvement of cooperatives and small and medium level business organizations within concessions. The Minister has indicated that he would like to see privately-owned HPH concessions progressively divested of 40% of their shares, 20% of which would go to cooperatives and another 20% to a government BUMN or BUMD with a further 1 % per annum transferred to cooperatives so that by the end of a concession lease the entire concession would belong to a cooperative. How this would be accomplished has yet to be properly presented. The Minister and his deputies have also indicated that they wish to limit the involvement of private companies to concessions of 50,000 hectares (100,000 in Irian Jaya) in one location, to a maximum of 100,000 hectares in any one province (except for Irian Jaya where 200,000 will be allowed) and to a maximum nationally of 400,000 hectares. A draft a regulation for the utilization of production forest, rescinding the three earlier state regulations already exists. It details matters agreed to with the IMF – on auctioning concessions, 35 year leases and performance bonds but it does not deal with the progressive transfer of shares from concessions nor does it limit the size of concession. This draft regulation also opens the door to cooperatives, small businesses and forest communities. It does this by creating a distinction between two rights to two different categories of forest: 1) a right to make use of the forest (hak pengusahaan hutan: HPH) which already exists and 2) a right to make use of the ‘societal forest’ (hak pengusahaan hutan masyarakat: HPHKM). The ‘societal forest’ is ‘state forest’ (hutan negara) defined and determined by the Minister to be used by a local population in a sustainable manner for welfare of that population. The rights to make use of the forest may be granted by the Minister either by application or by auction. The distinction is made between ‘natural forest’ (hutan alam) and ‘plantation forest’ (hutan tanaman) [seemingly equivalent to the former HTI]. The right to utilize natural forest may be granted to a cooperative, a small or medium size business enterprise, a state-owned enterprise, or private national limited liability company. The same is true plantation forests but these can also be owned by foreign companies registered in Indonesia. Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management in Indonesia Version 2, 28-May-02 \\oercdserver \97311\Report\Annex2\97311 WP 3 - Working Legislati on & Policy.doc
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The rights to make use of the ‘societal forest’ may be granted by application. The regulation recognizes the existence of adat law communities (masyarakat hukum adat) but this existence has to be determined by the local Bupati on the basis of a local investigation. Use of the forest is provided for 35 years via a local cooperative with a limit of a hundred hectares per cooperative member. This new regulation, if it were agreed to and signed by President Habibie, would usher in a new era for the forest. Although it does not go as far as the draft of the new Basic Forestry Law, it presumes aspects of this law. Because of the changes that it proposes, it is still being questioned. Much doubt has been raised over the management abilities and capital capacities of cooperatives to carry out the responsibilities given them under this regulation. Indications are, however, that there will be a push by the Minister to see that this particular regulation (in some form or other) is issued by the end of November 1998. Revisions to PP 21/1970 and the other related regulations on forest concessions will entail revisions to PP 28/1985 on Forest Protection. Any revisions to such an important state regulation would thus have immediate implications for forest fire prevention. The interdependence of one regulation on another means that significant changes to earlier regulations have an escalating affect on later regulations. Once begun, reform has to be systematic. 5.6.1
The Provincial Reform Agenda: The Example of East Kalimantan Successful fire prevention is heavily dependent on local efforts. The reorganization of province capacities to deal with fire prevention requires a ‘deep’ level of reform that must reach down to districts and villages. Concurrent with the national debate on forestry reform there has also been an on-going debate on reform in different provinces. On the 28th and 29th of July, a workshop was held involving local Forestry officials, members of the Faculty of Forestry of Mulawarman University and other forest specialists. Over a hundred participants attended the workshop. At the end of its deliberations, this workshop issued a comprehensive document for the reform of forests and estates in East Kalimantan. This document provides a valuable, well-grounded outline of the issues and requirements for reform at the provincial level. The workshop set out, in remarkably forceful language, a list of ten issues that needed to be addressed. Many of these issues are precisely those currently being addressed at the national level. §
The fact that customary law (hak ulayat/hukum adat) was not recognized, nor upheld by the Agarian Law and the Basic Forestry Law, gave local populations no rights to land or to what is planted on that land.
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§
The role of state enterprises (BUMN/BUMS) in the system of forest concessions (HPH) needed to be reconsider to give local populations a role is forest production.
§
The clearing of areas by industrial timber estates (HTI) and by oil palm plantations was being carried out in productive forests and not in unproductive or alang-alang grass areas.
§
The ‘autonomy’ for the management of forest resources has to proceed from the government to local areas and from the government to the people.
§
The Provincial Spatial Plan (Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah Propinsi: RTRWP) had not been completed forcing all parties in the province to continue to rely on the Forestry Land Use Plan (Tata Guna Hutan Kesepakatan: TGHK ). This situation had a deleterious affect on planning.
§
The possibility needed to be considered of converting some Non-Forest Cultivated Areas (Kawasan Budidaya Non-Kehutanan: KBNK) to Forest Cultivation Areas (Kawasan Budidaya Kehutanan) so that they could become Conservation Areas because of their rich biodiversity.
§
The partnership between local populations and government should be based on four principles: 1) justice, 2) sustainability/conservation, 3) democracy and 4) transparency.
§
All activities for the development of the resources of forests and estates should involve the empowerment of the people.
§
The tragic burning of the forests of East Kalimantan in 1997/98 was caused by the irresponsible activities of the industrial plantations and estates in clearing land by extensive burning that was difficult to control. There is no evidence of efforts to bring them to court.
§
Present efforts at community development and on guarding forest concessions only give to high costs in concession budgets, including those of the BUMS and BUMN.
To address these issues, the workshop proposed a series of reform measures of varying specificity. Those calling for the most immediate action were: §
Establish the new spatial planning (RTRWP) for East Kalimantan and to away with the older landuse planning (TGHK).
§
Cancel all Wood Exploitation Permits (Izin Pemanfaat Kayu:IPK) and issue no more new licenses for natural forests (both untouched forest and forested areas with good regrowth)
§
Relocate all HTI and oil palm plantations from areas of productive forest to areas that are no longer productive because of burning but do so with full attention to areas set aside for village settlement under Village Landuse Agreements (Tataguna Lahan Desa Kesepakatan: TLDK ).
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§
Reassess the rights of all HPH/HTI that are too extensive and can not be properly safeguarded against forest fires as well as the rights of those HPH/HTI guilty of repeated timber felling in the same areas.
§
Disestablish all TPHT because they lack the competence to carry out their function in safeguarding and managing forest resources and return these functions to forest guards (jagawana) and police.
§
Reconsider the need for the existence and overlapping authority of a Forest and Plantation Department office (kanwil) together with that of Forest and Plantation Service (dinas) at the provincial level.
§
Speed up the process of decentralization for the management of forest resources.
§
Reassess and cancel all HPH/HGU that derive from the KKN (corruption, collusion and nepotism) of the New Order
§
Recommend to the military that their foundations, both national and local, no longer be involved in the management of forest resources.
§
Change the policy on the use of the Reforestation Fund (Dana Reboisasi) 1) so that what has come from the forest is used to rehabilitate the forest that has burnt, 2) so that HTI development is not financed from this fund, and 3) so that the DR becomes a DJR: a Forest Guarantee Fund.
§
Put an end the intimate relationship between concession holders and the timber industry.
§
Change, revise or cancel policy regulations for forest resource management so that they support local populations. This includes the Basic Forestry Law (UU No 5/1967) and State Decree on Forest Concessions (PP No 21/1970).
Reforms requiring a longer time framework include: §
Analyze and develop a policy system for the management of the forest that is based on the multiple functions of the forest.
§
Establish better criteria for determining forest functions by adding more on conservation and on involvement with local populations. (Reconsider the Minister of Agriculture’s Decree No 837/Ktp/UM/11/1980.)
§
Discuss mechanisms for the involvement of local populations in resource management from the planning to the evaluation stage.
§
Reconsider the mechanisms within the Nuclear Estate Program (PIR), particularly to the market monopoly of the nuclear estate.
§
Support the involvement of NGOs in institution partners with local populations
§
Create an independent agency for the prevention and suppression of fires function from national level to the local level
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§
Prepare policies for fire prevention that provide incentives to local populations as owners of resources with a sense of belonging to their environment.
§
Devise mechanisms for the involvement of local populations in the safeguarding and protecting the forest.
§
Develop partnership policies with local populations that are just, democratic, open and sustainable.
More general reforms requiring an even longer perspective include: §
Prepare and implement polices that are so transparent that local populations can monitor them.
§
Increase the local human resource capacities for forest and estates to support local administrative autonomy.
§
Strengthen law enforcement clearly and consistently for forests and estates.
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6.
Proposed Policy Interventions The present debate on policy reform is intense and will eventually be productive. There is no lack of issues on the agenda reform and as the reform process proceeds, the changes in policy will have a profound effect on the management of forest and estate resources, including fire and drought management. It is impossible – at this stage, inappropriate – to second-guess the particular changes that will occur in the course of this reform. This section of the present paper focuses on policy interventions in relation to fire and drought. Any and all of these interventions can be easily added as proposals to the current reform agenda. These proposed interventions are based on a wide range of available materials but especially on the findings of the BAPPENAS/ADB Fire Prevention and Drought Management team’s research. This section offers a number of proposals that could be considered ‘win-win solutions’ to particular problems of fire prevention and drought management. All of the problems are major problems, which – if they were deal with effectively – would significantly reduce the occurrence and spread of fires in Indonesia and along with accompanying problems of smoke and haze. These intervention are grouped under a number of headings: 1) Land Clearance for Conversion to Cultivation; 2) Land Utilization and Zoning for Effective Fire Prevention; 3) Fire and Drought Information Systems; and 4) Local Organization for Fire Suppression. Each of these headings is discussed separately.
6.1.1
Land Clearance for Conversion to Cultivation A complex set of decisions eventuates in the transfer of production or limited production forest to the category of conversion forest. Under present legislation, critical decisions are supposed to be made at the provincial level in accordance with well-established spatial planning models. Until each province has an agreed upon Provincial Spatial Plan (RTRWP) there will continue to be controversy. Resolution of these issues is currently on the reform agenda at the national level and at the provincial level and will eventually be achieved. As is indicated by the current debate, all spatial planning at the provincial level will need to take account of local settlements and their needs. For fire prevention, problems arise at the next level of decision-making when particular areas of conversion forest are released for plantations; or when a part or all of a (HPH) timber concession is converted to an industrial timber plantation (HTI). This would also hold for areas designated for transmigration. Invariably the transferred land has stands of timber and other scrub on it. How, whether and by whom this timber is to be harvested before planting is allowed to proceed is a knotty bureaucratic problem that can take a long time to resolve. Faced with these bureaucratic obstacles, plantation owners have often resorted to the expedient of burning the area to eliminate the problem.
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To give some idea of the bureaucratic processes, a brief sketch of the problem is necessary. The processes are different for HPH to HTI conversion and for oil palm plantations because in the first case, the land remains a forestry area whereas in the second, until recently, it came under the jurisdiction of agriculture. The recent transfer of the plantation sector to Forestry could promote a simplification of this process. Whether for HTI, plantation or transmigration, to clear forest land of its timber, a Wood-Exploitation Permit (Izin Pemanfaatan Kayu:IPK) must be issued based on two pertaining ministerial decrees from Forestry (SK Menhut No. 495/KtpsII/1989; SK Menhut No. 227/Ktps-II/1998). This IPK serves as a land clearance license. Prior to the agreed reduction on export taxes on sawn timber required by the IMF, the timber on such land was not as valuable as it would be at present. For local use, for example as sawn timber, it has always had value. Forestry originally allowed the burning of this land in a ‘managed fashion’ according to the decree of the Director General PHPA (SK Dirjen PHPA No. 4/1997). This permission to burn was issued on 3 April 1997 but rescinded on 3 October 1997 when, in response to wide-spread forest fires, the order was issued forbidding all land clearance by burning. For agricultural plantations, the process is more complex. In addition to an Wood-Exploitation Permit (IPK), permission must also be sought from the provincial governor’s office (Tingkat I) and from the office of Defense (Pertahanan) at the kabupaten level (Tingkat II). With these documents, the plantation owner must prepare an ‘Agreement in Principle to Carry-out Cultivation’ (Persetujuan Prinsip Usaha Budi Daya: PPUBD) which is supposed to be sent to the Director-General for Plantations if the proposed plantation is intended to be more than 200 hectares; to the Plantation Service Office (Tingkat I) if it is to be between 25 and 200 hectares; and to the Plantation Service Office (Tingkat II) if plantation is to be less 25 hectares. When this agreement has been received and accepted, clearing can begin. Like Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture allowed land clearing by burning but has since issued new guidelines for clearance without burning (No. 38/KB110/SK/DJ.BUN/05.95) which have already been discussed. Policy Proposals All licensing processes be simplified and set out in a consistent set of standard procedures for HTI, plantations and transmigration. All Wood-Exploitation Permits – licenses for clearing timber on conversion lands – be put up for auction at the provincial level. These local auctions would need to occur before the ‘transfer’ of land for other uses. The proceeds from these auctions should be placed in a Provincial Fire Prevention Fund. Thus land clearance would contribute to fire prevention.
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All those who are awarded IPK permits or those awarded land for plantation or other clearance be required to post a substantial ‘Responsible Land Clearance Bond’ with the provincial government guaranteeing their compliance with correct methods of land clearance. This bond would be held in case of the occurrence of fires caused during land clearance. 6.1.2
Land Utilization and Zoning for Effective Fire Prevention Spatial planning and landuse zoning is a critical issue, especially at the provincial level. By law, all provinces are required to have well-developed and fully-agreed upon Provincial Spatial Plans (RTRWP). On the basis of these plans, landuse identification and landuse zoning is supposed to be established. The evidence is overwhelming that these plans have not yet been completed and therefore their quality and reliability can not be determined. The capacity to prepare the maps on which such spatial planning can be carried out exists within Indonesia but not necessarily in every province at an adequate level. Much has already been invested in providing the capacity and training to prepare the necessary maps and appropriate spatial plans. For many of the provinces of Indonesia, there is a pressing need for such plans in order to identify areas with peat soils. Identification of peat soil areas is necessary to be able to establish special guidelines for their utilization. Land clearing on peat soil areas, for example, requires special care and attention. The ADB research indicates that almost 57 % of all of the acrid haze produced during the fires in 1997/98 derived from fires on these soils in different provinces. Kalimantan and Sumatra were particularly affected but large areas of peat soil swamps also caught fire and burnt in Irian Jaya. Special regulations are therefore needed to deal with the complex problems (including draining) that arise in the utilization of peat soils. The grand ‘gambut’ scheme to establish irrigated rice fields on one million hectare of mainly peat soils has now been rightly scaled down and seemly abandoned. A large area has already been drained for this purpose and some of these peat soils caught fire and burnt during 1997-98. Adjacent forested areas on these peat soils were also affected. There is an urgent need to establish a rehabilitation and replanting program for these areas to avoid a reoccurrence of fires in the future. Policy Proposals Efforts should be made to provide the capacity and facilities to complete provincial spatial plans (RTRWP) as a matter of priority so that these plans can be used for reliable local land zoning. All peat soils should be identified and delimited within each province because of the considerable risk of fire proposed by these soils and because of the capacity to generate harmful haze and smoke.
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Peat soils should be subject to special regulations on land clearance. Burning of any kind, including managed burning, should be strictly prohibited. Efforts should be made immediately to rehabilitate the hundreds of thousands of hectares of land on peat soils that were cleared for irrigated rice planting under the ‘Million Hectare Gambut’ scheme. 6.1.3
Local Organization for Fire Prevention and Suppression In all countries of the world, the emphasis in fire prevention and suppression is placed at the local level. Although coordination is essential, particularly where and when fires cross provincial boundaries, the overwhelming needs in planning, training and in responding rapidly must be done at the local level. Like Indonesia, other countries have a variety of coordinating agencies with different, sometimes overlapping, functions. These agencies do not in themselves present difficulties, provided that plans exist at the local level for the effective involvement of these agencies. In Indonesia, there is a need for better national interagency definition of respective spheres of action. For effective fire prevention and suppression, clear and well-developed provincial level planning, training and strategic operations are needed. There are considerable differences between Indonesia’s provinces in their natural and human environments. Some have more forests than others; some larger areas of peat soils; others more savannah grasslands; some have large deposits of coal. Some provinces have a higher proportion of timber concessions or timber estates, others have a greater proportion of smallholder agriculture or of plantations. There can be no one fire prevention and suppression plan to fit all the needs of Indonesia’s diverse provinces. The first need is for more directed research into the nature of fires in different parts of the country (see TA: Packham and Smith). An acacia fire poses different problems to a dipterocarp fire; coal fires require different methods of suppression than those on alang-alang grass or on peat soils. A wild bush fire on Timor or in Irian Jaya can be very different from a plantation fire in Jambi. It is only on the basis of this research that one can begin to design provincial plans with different local emphases. The design of provincial fire prevention plans is a high priority The second need is for a training program in fire prevention and suppression. Such a training program would require several stages. At the national level, there would need to be a high quality, intensive training program ‘to train the trainers’ in fire-preparedness and in fire-fighting techniques. Once trained, these trainers would need to be sent to different provinces to conduct local level training schools and to carry out, in coordination with provincial level agencies, simulated firefighting operations in different localities. In large provinces, with diverse ecosystems, conducting training and training exercises would require a substantial
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commitment. One model for this kind of training – developed through BAPPENAS – is that of the ‘field schools for integrated pest management’ (sekolah lapangan untuk pengendalian hama terpadu). Such schools were able to transfer knowledge rapidly from the national to the village level. Policy Proposals In conjunction with each province’s Provincial Spatial Plan (RTRWP), a ‘Provincial Fire Prevention and Suppression Plan’ be designed to suit the distinctive characteristics of the province. Issues of coordination among national agencies – who, when and how – should be clearly defined with this plan. As part of this plan, a Provincial Fire Management Center should be established in each province. A National Fire Research and Development Center be established and research conducted into the nature of fire and haze in different parts of Indonesia and that this research be used to assist provinces in preparing their fire prevention and suppression plans. A training program be established at the national level ‘to train the trainers’ in fire preparedness and fire prevention; these trainers should then be sent to the provinces to train local populations in the necessary techniques and to carry out simulated fire-fighting operations as training exercises in different provincial localities. 6.1.4
Fire and Drought Information Systems The management of information is absolutely essential to the effective prevention and suppression of fires. Such information management is needed at different levels for different purposes and within different time frameworks. There is, first, the information needed for monitoring and forecasting. In this regard, the Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics (BMG) is a national resource of fundamental importance. It maintains an extended network of meteorological stations and receives additional data from a still larger network of stations managed by the Ministry of Agriculture. It carries out radiosonde soundings, measures air quality, and archives data for further reference and review. Through the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), BMG maintains links to meteorological organizations throughout the world and is therefore able to pass on information about developing global weather patterns that may affect Indonesia. In all of these activities, including the further strengthening of its research capacities, the work of the BMG must be preserved and enhanced (See TA: Nigel Tapper). Communications – in some cases, now provided by mail or fax, often with a high loss of valuable data with its outlying stations – need to be made immediate and reliable. Such communications should therefore be computerized and the capacities of BMG at the national level should be improved to be able deal with a new level of data transmission, both nationally and internationally.
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The reliability of many of these stations must also be improved and the entire network strengthened. Radiosonde sounding should be increased and the network of stations carrying out these soundings should be expanded (Currently the whole of Kalimantan is without such soundings). In return, BMG should be given full responsibilities to provide long-range and more immediate forecasts as part of a National Early Warning System (NEWS) of impending droughts. The BMG should have direct links to designated fire prevention centers in all provinces and should maintain close communications. Much of this could be done through a regularly up-dated web site for national and regional forecasting. From an international perspective, many of Indonesia’s fires are characterized by a relatively low intensity; these fires spread relatively slowly but they often occur in remote areas that are difficult to access. Dealing with such fires also demands good information management and communication at the local level. The evidence of research shows that many local officials were unable to access or utilize vital information that would have assisted them to respond rapidly and effectively to fires in their areas. To overcome this problem, each provincial fire management center should be equipped with computer capacities to receive and analyze information from both national and international weather and fire sources. Such information is needed to create and regularly maintain a ‘Provincial Fire Danger Index’. In the early pinpointing of fires, each Provincial Fire Management Center would need to able to access a range of electronic information from national and international sources and be able to transmit this information locally. Adequate maps need to be available to plot fires and their trajectories and communications with PUSDAL and its SATLAK fire brigades should be by hand-held phones. Policy Proposals The Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics (BMG) is a national resource whose information management capacities need to be maintained and extended to provide weather forecasts as an essential part of a National Early Warning System (NEWS). These capacities include 1) its extensive network of weather stations, 2) its linkages with international meteorological organizations involved in global weather forecasting; 3) its network of radiosonde sounding stations; and 4) research and climate modeling capabilities. (In this regard, BMG needs to coordinate its research with LAPAN and BTTI.) BMG should have reliable electronic communication with its weather stations and to all Province Fire Management Centers in all provinces. BMG should maintain a continually updated web site for national and regional forecasting.
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Indonesia should have a network of Provincial Fire Management Centers with computer facilities able to access and analyze weather and fire information derived from both national and international sources. Each province should maintain a ‘Provincial Fire Danger Index’ and regularly inform the general public of fire danger conditions. These Provincial Fire Management Centers, as strategic head quarters during periods of fire, should have the communication capacities to pinpoint local fires and to communicate effectively with its local fire brigades.
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7.
Conclusions In conclusion, it needs to be emphasized that the policy framework discussed in this brief assessment of fire prevention and drought management issues will need to be updated to keep in touch with current policy reform. There is a considerable expectation, as has already been indicated that within the next several months, there will be new state regulations that alter fundamentally the future management of the forests and estates. These changes will make possible new policy interventions. Thus, to take one example, the Ministerial Reform Team has made explicit reference to the role of Indonesian forests as carbon sinks. It may therefore be possible within a matter of months to consider the possibilities of emissions trading as proposed by the Kyoto Protocol. The future is open and changing rapidly.
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8.
Bibliography
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