| Home > AusAID Projects > Fire Control and Protections |  |
Impacts of fire and its use for sustainable land and forest management in Indonesia and Northern AustraliaPROJECT SUMMARY This project arose from the need to develop relevant policies and policy outcomes, communication and education products that will facilitate and enable the judicious use of fire in sustainable land and forest management. The scientists will determine current and past patterns of fire in a range of strategically located sites in western Indonesia (southern Sumatra, East Kalimantan), eastern Indonesia (Sumba and Flores) and northern Australia. They will review national, state/regional policy frameworks regarding underlying fire management issues and past/current impacts of these policies, and determine positive and negative impacts of a range of fire management strategies, particularly for forestry. Finally they will employ participatory planning methods to determine appropriate fire management strategies and identify enabling policies that facilitate improved livelihood options for different land-uses, and to enhance land and forest management capacity of stakeholders and associated institutions. BACKGROUND In 1997–98, fires in Indonesia cost US$9 billion through lost rice production, the destruction of large areas of forest and other effects. They also resulted in enormous areas of smoke pollution, with adverse health effects for Indonesia and neighbouring countries, and severe and extensive ecological damage. In eastern Indonesia, the breakdown of traditional fire management practices has contributed to declining land productivity through direct impacts on plantations and crops, soil loss and nutrient depletion, and associated water catchment degradation. In northern Australia, changing fire management practices have major implications for pastoral production and the ecological integrity of affected regions. Both western and eastern Indonesia need to develop appropriate systems for managing landscape fire and to incorporate these systems in workable fire management policies. In particular, there is a need for a better understanding of the underlying causes of fires, the extent and seasonality of burning, the impacts of various fire regimes and the evaluation of policy options. In eastern Indonesia, there is also a need to develop institutional capacity. Recent research in Australia has provided much of the information needed for improving fire management policies and has identified two broad regional patterns - the restricted use of fire on relatively arable pastoral lands and extensive, frequent late dry-season wildfires. OBJECTIVES The aim of this project is to develop and implement appropriate fire management strategies and policies for Indonesia and northern Australia, that will result in more sustainable productivity, better living standards for rural communities and less environmental damage. METHODOLOGY This research builds on methods previously used in western Indonesia and northern Australia. The project team will use participatory mapping, social surveys, field surveys and remote sensing to study fire scars and burning patterns and to obtain information about the biophysical, social and economic impacts of fire. Throughout the project, scientists will collaborate with communities and decision-makers to make sure that partner institutions benefit through technology transfer, training and education. Researchers will use satellite monitoring and associated GIS technologies to determine current patterns of burning and land-use changes. They will review the current national and regional policy and regulatory frameworks, establish two demonstration sites to assess the impacts of different burning practices and to highlight improved land-use practices, conduct national and regional seminars and field days, assess alternative fire management practices for different land-use objectives; and disseminate information through training and other activities. EXPECTED OUTPUTS This project will describe current and past patterns of fire in a range of strategically located sites, and outline the positive and negative impacts of a range of fire management strategies, particularly for forestry. Researchers will determine appropriate fire management strategies for different land use objectives and develop better national and regional fire management policy frameworks. Through technology transfer, training and education,
the project will enhance the land and forest management capacity of land
users, officials, policy-makers and researchers. Small land users in Indonesia
and land managers in northern Australia will gain a better understanding
of the potential long-term impacts of fire management practices. The project
will provide practical solutions to land-use conflicts at village level.
Provincial and regional land-use regulators and officials will gain a
better understanding of fire management issues. The international research
and policy community will better understand how the nature and role of
fire in the tropics have changed in recent times. Overseas Collaborating Countries: Indonesia Project Web Site: No web site reference available |
 |
 |
 |
