Analysis of the Causes and Impacts of Forest Fires and Haze – World

Assessment of the Oil Palm Business

The objective of this study was to identify options for WWF to promote fire free, ‘zero-burning’ techniques for land clearing among oil palm plantation companies in Indonesia. A detailed report was published in April 1998 (Wakker 1998). This study carried out a thorough examination of the oil palm industry in Indonesia and the possibilities for ‘zero-burning’ techniques. The study concluded that:

• fire free land clearing is urgently needed in Indonesia; the benefits are better soil properties, environmental gain, and zero air pollution;
• zero burning is a faster method of clearing land and can lead to an earlier harvest and income;
• zero burning should be promoted among Indonesian oil palm plantation companies; to achieve this, companies should be provided with incentives to overcome the constraints of the technique (higher cost, perceived risk of pests and disease, lack of trained personnel, equipment, and clearing contractors);
• WWF-Indonesia should establish collaboration with the palm oil research institutes in Malaysia and Indonesia that are researching zero-burning techniques;
• the government should adopt a decree explicitly stating that plantation companies can be fined for any fires observed on their land;
• international banks could be requested to adopt policies to stop financing projects that involve burning as a means of clearing land for development; and
• monitoring of fires in plantations should be carried out routinely by oil palm research institutes.

Remote Sensing/GIS Assessment

These activities are being carried out jointly by the IDRISI Project at Clark University, USA; the Department of Geography at George Washington University, USA; and WWF-Indonesia. The activities are still at an early stage and deal mainly with data processing (pers. comm.’). The group now has a fairly complete AVHRR data set for 1997 for most of Kalimantan. The plan is to use the imagery to:

• locate burn scars;
• improve current or develop new land cover maps;
• reassess current hot spot maps and mapping approaches; and
• recommend improved approaches for operational monitoring of fire risk, active fires,
• and burn scars.

Biological Assessment

The team will conduct surveys of the ecological impacts on soil, vegetation, and species at sites in Kalimantan (Tanjung Puting National Park and Kutai NP). A preliminary fire impact study was carried out in Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan in December 1997 (Lilley 1998; Saleh 1998). Sowerby and Yeager (1997) also produced a report on the effects of fire on wildlife and ecosystem processes.

Social Assessment

WWF-Indonesia is studying the effects of the fires on traditional forest dwellers and more recent immigrants to forest areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan. These studies will also try to determine how economic, social, and political forces cause rural people to engage in activities that increase the risk of uncontrolled forest fires, and how the fires may ultimately affect the welfare of these communities.

Interim Recommendations

These interim recommendations were issued (from EEPSEA/WWF 1998b):

• declare a moratorium on the ‘1 Million Hectare Rice Project’ in Central Kalimantan; clarify land ownership laws that encourage individuals and companies to clear land as a way of staking a claim;
• enforce existing laws that regulate the use of fire for land clearing; make full and prompt use of fire monitoring data provided through regional and international programmes to identify and prosecute those responsible for illegal burning;
• chance policies that keep the prices of wood to processing mills low, thus providing little incentive to protect standing timber or to sell scrap wood rather than burn it;
• lengthen the term of leases of forest land to timber companies, which currently provide little incentive to manage forests sustainably; this should be coupled with strict enforcement of regulations governing forestry practices;
• investigate no-burn methods for land clearing; a recent WWF study (Wakker 1998) showed this to be a promising option; and
• reduce targets for planned forest conversion and instead establish new plantations in unused grasslands, of which Indonesia has several million hectares.

References

Schweithelm, J. 1998. The Fire this Time – An Overview of Indonesia’s Forest Fires in 1997-98. Discussion Pape for project ID162 Analysis of the Causes and Impacts of Forest Fires and Haze.

EEPSEA and WWF 1998a. Interim results of a Study on the Economic Value of Haze Damages in SE Asia. WWF Indonesia and EEPSEA

EEPSEA and WWF 1998b. The Indonesian Fires and haze of 1997: The Economic Toll – Interim Report. WWF Indonesia and EEPSEA

Lilley, R. 1998. Reptile and Amphibian Survey in Central Kalimantamn, with special reference to the impact of forest fires. Unpublishes report for WWF-IP

Saleh, C. 1998. Wildlife Survey Report from Burned and unburned Forest Areas in central Kalimantan, WWF-IP

Sowerby, J. and Yeager, C.P. 1997. Fire Effects on Forests, Forest Wildlife and associated Ecosystem Processes. Unpublished Report WWF-IP

Wakker, E. 1998. Introducing zero-burning techniques in Indonesia’s oil palm plantations. Report prepared for WWF-IP. Published by AIDEnvironment

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