We will try to make cluster approaches in the three districts and the result may serve as a reference for various parties.Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA) - Three Indonesian districts have been chosen for a cluster-based forest and land fire prevention pilot program organized by international social institutions.
The three districts are Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) in South Sumatra, Pelalawan in Riau, and Pulang Pisau in Central Kalimantan, executive director of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, Laode M. Syarif, said in Kayuagung, South Sumatra, on Saturday.
The program, which is called “Strengthening Indonesian Capacity for Anticipatory Peat Fire Management (SIAP-IFM) Partnership,” is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Kishugu of South Africa, and Center for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management in Southeast Asia Pacific - Bogor Institute of Agriculture (CCROM IPB).
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Under the pilot, the institutions will facilitate the strengthening of various parties to prevent and handle forest and land fires in the three selected areas.
“We will try to make cluster approaches in the three districts and the result may serve as a reference for various parties," he said.
The cluster approach is a collaborative fire prevention activity, which involves all parties, including regional governments, military, police, private companies, sub-districts, and villages.
Hopefully, the approach can change the paradigm of forest and land fire handling from putting out fires to preventing them, he said.
A prevention strategy, which involves collaboration from all parties, is badly needed since peatland fires are difficult to put out, he said.
Meanwhile, secretary of the Ogan Komering Ilir district administration, Husin, expressed the hope that the approach would help offset the limited government budget for handling forest and land fires.
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"Forest and land fires always cast a shadow every dry season. We hope for assistance from national and international NGOs to give their best solution,” he said.
Although the area affected by forest and land fires has continued to shrink since the massive fire of 2015, the government is targeting to eliminate the incidence of forest and land fires altogether, he added.
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Translator: Dolly Rosana, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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