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Overview
Indonesia is composed of 13,667 islands--five main islands
(Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya),
two major archipelagos (Nusa Tenggara and Maluku Islands),
and sixty smaller archipelagos. The islands are mountainous
with some peaks reaching 3,800 meters above sea level
in western islands and as high as 5,000 meters in Irian
Jaya. The climate ranges from tropical, hot, humid to
a more moderate climate in the highlands.
Indonesia is also rich in biodiversity. Indonesia forests
cover approximately 60 percent of the land, which includes
10 percent of all tropical forests in the world.
Indonesia
is home to:
- 11
percent of the world's flowering plants,
- 12
percent of the world's mammals,
- 15
percent of all amphibians and reptiles,
- 17
percent of all birds, and
- 37
percent of the world's fish.
Some
of the animals that live in the forests of Indonesia
include: the Sumatran tiger, Komodo dragon, babi rusa,
anoa, Macacanigra, and the Badak Jaw.
In
addition to the wildlife, Indonesia's forests are also
vital to the country's economy. Indonesia was once the
premier exporter of plywood in the world. Local villages
derive their main incomes from forest products (i.e.,
rattan), which are also exported.
Three
main commercial sectors of Indonesia include rice-growing
in the valleys and plains of Sumatra, Java, and Bali;
the largely coastal commercial sector; and more marginal
upland forest farming communities which exist by means
of subsistence swidden agriculture. Sixty-nine percent
of Indonesia's population lives in rural areas. Rice
dominates production but cassava, corn, sweet potatoes,
vegetables, and fruits are important, as are estate
crops such as sugar, coffee, peanuts, soybeans, rubber,
oil palm, and coconuts. Indonesia also produces steel,
aluminum and cement, and exports oil.
Threats to the Forests
Indonesia's biodiverse forests are facing severe threats
of deforestation, soil degradation, and massive forest
fires resulting from intensive commercial and illegal
logging, plantation development and slash and burn practices.
In the mid-1980s, the government developed forestry
management plans to promote conservation and better
management practices; however, these plans were never
implemented. At the same time, banks were financing
the over-capacity of forest industry beyond the supply
of wood--
wood that could have come from sustainable managed sources.
Why Does the USDA Forest Service Work in Indonesia?
The threats to Indonesia's vast and biodiverse forests
affect both global and local environments and economies.
Just a few years ago severe forest fires throughout
Indonesia led to extremely hazardous air pollution conditions
in Indonesia's cities and towns, creating health problems
for many residents, as well as threatening lives and
damaging forest resources. USDA
Forest Service fire specialists were brought in
during the fires to help the Indonesia Department of
Forestry manage the fires and develop a better system
for fire response and control.
In
response to the situation, the Southeast Asia Environment
Initiative and the East Asia and Pacific Environmental
Initiative provided funding in 1998 and 1999 for the
USDA
Forest Service to assist and strengthen fire management
in Southeast Asia with a primary emphasis on Indonesia.
Consequently, the
Strengthening Fire Management Program has been instrumental
in creating a cadre of Indonesians who are capable of
responding to and managing future catastrophic fires.
Commercial and illegal logging is also a major threat
to forest resources. In response, the USDA Forest Service
International
Programs--in collaboration with the US
Agency for International Development, the Food
and Agriculture Organization, and others-- is assisting
in activities that help adopt reduced impact harvesting
techniques and practices throughout the Asia-Pacific
Forestry Commission.
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Fire Management
Introduction
The severe 1997 and 1998 Southeast Asia fire and haze
event highlighted the need for effective, well-planned,
and coordinated response mechanisms with local, national
and regional implementation capacity. As a result of
this fire and haze event, the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Haze Technical Task Force
(HTTF) developed a Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP)
comprised of three key focus areas; monitoring, prevention,
and mitigation. The USDA Forest Service (USFS) initially
identified the mitigation component as an area in which
USFS technical skills could contribute to efforts addressing
the fire and haze problems. Consequently, the majority
of USFS Program activities have been conducted in partnership
with the ASEAN/HTTP/Coordination and Support Unit (CSU).
The
theme and purpose of the USFS Program has been to identify
and implement activities to build capacity for appropriate
fire management response. The strategic goals have been
to: 1) introduce fire management models and processes;
2) evaluate and test the utility of these models and
processes in the Southeast Asian environment; and 3)
encourage replication and institutionalization of the
adapted models and processes. As part of the total Program,
the USFS has supported various activities, all of which
can be reviewed by reading the complete program report
(link). However, the Program focus was on three major
activities: Regional Assessments; Fire Suppression and
Mobilization Plans; and Fire Simulation Exercises.
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Regional Assessments
In 1998 USFS provided expertise in designing, developing
terms of reference, coordinating, and implementing an
analysis of forest and land fire suppression capabilities.
Assessment teams were deployed in Indonesia (Riau, Jambi,
South Sumatra, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Jawa),
Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, and Singapore. The three
teams assessing capacity in Indonesian provinces were
designed to build in-country capacity for this type
of activity. These teams were led by Indonesian Ministry
of Forestry and Estate Crops employees and included
representatives from the Indonesian National Environmental
Impact Management Agency (BAPEDAL). Technical expertise
for the Sumatra and Kalimantan teams was provided by
fire specialists from the USFS, Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service of
Australia. The team assessing suppression capability
on Java consisted entirely of Indonesians trained in
the assessment process.
Teams
assessing fire suppression capabilities in other ASEAN
countries were composed of international fire specialists
from the USFS and the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource
Management unit of Canada. The results of these assessments
were documented in seven reports entitled Analysis of
Forest and Land Fire Suppression Capabilities with the
respective areas of coverage indicated. These reports
were synthesized and presented to the ASEAN HTTF members,
as well as to interested Indonesian agencies and donor
countries. The information from the assessments greatly
enhanced both the regional understanding and donor country's
understanding of fire and haze related problems.
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Fire Suppression and Mobilization
Plans
The Fire Suppression and Mobilization Plans (FSMP) were
catalyzed, designed, and implemented for a pilot Fire
Suppression Mobilization Plan in the provinces of Riau
and South Sumatra, Indonesia in1999. Those involved
in this pilot plan represented Indonesian agencies responsible
for various aspects of fire management as well as two
fire management specialists from the USFS. A significant
outcome of this activity was the strengthened capacity
of team members for developing mobilization plans. The
information provided through the process of mobilization
planning was the basis for identifying strengths and
weaknesses within the existing fire suppression system.
During
2000, pilot provincial Fire Suppression Mobilization
Plans were developed for two districts in South Kalimantan,
Indonesia and three districts in South Sumatra, Indonesia.
Interagency teams, led by Indonesian provincial officials,
collected information and developed these plans with
USFS technical assistance. The output from this activity
increased the capacity of provincial/district officials
to recognize and utilize Indonesian fire suppression
resources, and created a prototype Fire Suppression
Mobilization Plan, which identified resources and processes
to mobilize for fire suppression. During 2001, the USFS
partnered with the Integrated Forest Fire Management
Project/German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) to develop
a Fire Suppression Mobilization Plan for Kutai Barat
District in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The same implementation
model from previous Fire Suppression Mobilization Plan
activities was applied by a provincial interagency team
and technical experts from the USFS and GTZ. In 2002,
a similar Fire Suppression Mobilization Plan activity
was conducted in Jambi province, Indonesia.
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Fire Simulation Exercises
The Fire Simulation Exercise activities began with the
development and implementation of an exercise in the
Kampar District of Riau Province, Indonesia. The objective
of this activity was to strengthen the existing provincial
and district level institutional structures for fire
suppression. This first practical simulation exercise
served as a valuable learning experience for both the
simulation team and the participants and it helped to
develop a process for future exercises. Subsequently,
this technical simulation exercise package was replicated
in the districts of Riau, South Sumatra, and West Kalimantan,
Indonesia.
During
2001, the USFS designed, facilitated, and implemented
a National Level Fire Simulation exercise in Indonesia.
The exercise was linked and conducted simultaneously
at three levels of government: national, provincial,
and district. Six key institutions participated in this
exercise: National Disaster Management Coordinating
Board (BAKORNAS PBP), Ministry of Forestry, Ministry
of Agriculture, BAPEDAL, South Sumatra provincial government,
and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs. Prior to this exercise, the three
national agencies responsible for fire response, BAKORNAS
PBP, Ministry of Forestry, and BAPEDAL had not interacted
in the context of a national fire disaster. As a result
of this simulation exercise, these key agencies clarified
roles, responsibilities, interrelationships, and how
they will work together in the event of such a disaster.
A
Sub-Regional Fire Simulation Exercise is currently planned
for 2003. This exercise will take place under the auspices
of the ASEAN/HTTP Sub-Regional Fire Fighting Arrangements
(Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore). The USFS has
provided a technical specialist to assist in designing
this exercise. It is anticipated that the exercise will
test each country's Standard Operating Procedures and
the guidelines for offering and receiving assistance
found in the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
(To find out more about the ASEAN Haze Technical Task
Force and the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze
Pollution click on this link - http://www.haze-online.or.id/index.php)
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Related
Publications:
If you would like to know more about the technical
aspects of our fire management program, click here: |
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