The forest fire is inevitable to occur during the dry season in Central Kalimantan. As a consequence, not only that the fire brings the threat to the forest and its ecosystem, but the smoke of the fire also leaves the long-term effects on human.

Photo by Desi Natalia/BNF
Looking back to the year of 2015 when the haze blanketed the whole regions of Central Kalimantan into its very critical condition, the news about the fire rocketed to the global scale coverage.
If we try to look at how the problem starts, then we will probably think that El Nino plays the major role in triggering the forest fire. However, many empirical research has shown that the human factor is the root of the burning forest.
To illustrate this, you might think of travelling across Central Kalimantan to see how the human’s ignorance on the massive peatland conversion to industries by cutting down the trees and burning them is somewhat painful reality behind the issue.
By setting up the fire, it can help reduce the cost to clear the land. On the one hand, the consequence for burning the trees is as expensive as making the fire wildly unstoppable and uncontrolled.
Considering the damage, BNF has been giving its endless efforts in combatting the fire which foreshadows the unique biodiversity from the hazardous threat. One of the efforts is to collaborate with the stakeholders to find a way out for preventing the fire.
BNF has long partnered with some organizations and institutions that share the same vision in protecting the forest including the forest fire prevention.
Along with the Center for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP) University of Palangkaraya, BNF supports the Local Community Patrol Team to fight the fires. At the moment, BNF also participates in building the awareness of the local people by collaborating with the stakeholders to facilitate the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in each of the administrative villages in Central Kalimantan.

BNF realizes that the human factor on the environmental damage such as forest fire is critical. Therefore, investing in local people by making them aware of about long-term consequences of the forest fire and how to deal with it should be on the front page.
“Conservation has a very wide scope, it is not merely about environmental protection, but also about educating the people on what to do so to increase their awareness on the environment,” said Yunsiska Ermiasi, BNF’s Conservation Manager at BNF office in Palangkaraya on Tuesday 27 March 2018.
Recently, by the grant of Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF), BNF helps facilitate the two-day Focus Group Discussion on 28-29 March 2018 in two administrative villages in Central Kalimantan, namely Kereng Bangkirai Village and Sabaru village. BNF cooperated with the administrative village of Bukit Tunggal to host the event.
The FGD was attended by the Fire Fighting Teams (of MPA from Kereng village and TSAK from Sabaru village) as well as the other representatives from Langkai, Palangkaraya, Menteng, Sei Gohong, Marang, and Banturung villages.
On the first day event, the FGD was held in Kereng Bengkirai village and then moved to Sabaru village on the second day with parallel session given by the invited speakers. BNF invited the stakeholders as the speakers of the event. They are from the representatives of Departmental (Resort) Police of Bukit Tunggal, The Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency at provincial level (BPBPK), and the chiefs of each administrative village to lead the FGD.
The FGD went so well by having the knowledgeable speakers shared a lot of information about the legal and law perspectives on the forest burning, fire prevention, and how to deal with the fire and forest burning.
For BNF, the goal of this event is to help build the capacity of the Fire Fighting Teams to work together in preventing the forest fire. In addition to that, through this programme BNF also hopes that the program can be the point of departure for strengthening the network with the stakeholders from the local government at provincial level to work together to take the real action in preventing the burning of the forest.(AE)