© UNOPS

Three fire-prone districts across Indonesia saw a drastic reduction in forest fires in 2022, following UNEP’s implantation of a fire prevention pilot project, in cooperation with government partners. UNEP’s project aligns with the focus Indonesian President Widodo has placed on the need to prevent fires and protect peatland ecosystems across the country.

Forest fires are a main contributor to deforestation in Indonesia, which leads to the destruction of plant and animal habitats and hinders the country’s climate change mitigation efforts. To address this problem, UNEP – working with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), provincial governments, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs – has embarked on a new project, Strengthening Indonesian Capacity for Anticipatory Peat Fire Management (SIAP) in three pilot districts in Sumatra and Borneo.

UNEP led the establishment of a fire prevention cluster system based on South African fire protection associations. Fire prevention clusters are collaborative mechanisms that bring together concession holders and smallholder land users, as well as local government and community fire brigades to reduce haze and greenhouse gas emissions and make land use more sustainable.

As a result of the new approach, no fire risk hotspots were found in the Pulang Pisau district in the 2022 dry season (January to August), while in the Pelalawan district the number of reported fires decreased from 139 to 88, and in Ogan Komering Ilir from 345 to just 109.

“The efficacy of collaborative approaches to fire prevention has been proven through these clusters. Sharing the experience of these three districts not just in Indonesia, but also to other peat-rich and fire-prone countries in Latin America and southern Africa, is a contribution from Indonesia to the world,” said Bambang Suryaputra, Head of the Centre for Operation Control at BNPB.