In Indonesia, forest, land and peat fires are overwhelmingly driven by economic forces, as fires are the most cost-effective means of land clearing. Illegal land transactions assist in speeding such processes, with fires an important tool in clearing land to prepare areas for plantation crops as mechanized land clearing exists, but with prohibitive costs.

There are a number of laws, regulations and policies prohibiting the use of fire and the development of plantations on peatlands, but patronage, unclear spatial plans and fragile civil society participation in decision-making hinder their effectiveness.

The fire and haze crisis in Indonesia in 2015, which produced 15% of the world’s carbon emissions that year over several weeks, caused billions of dollars in economic losses and created a public health crisis, bringing these conflicting issues to the forefront of global attention.

There is a sense of urgency among governments to address fires on the peatlands of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua. This is demonstrated by Indonesia’s ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in September 2014 and President Joko Widodo’s decision to establish the Peatlands Restoration Agency (Badan Restorasi Gambut or BRG) in January 2016.

To further obtain multi stakeholder perspectives on how the implementation of laws and best practices can reduce fires and haze, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), in collaboration with University of Riau, will conduct a one-day national policy dialogue to share lesson learned the role of local laws (PERDA) to strengthen national laws, among others.

This is an official partner event of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and a follow-up to the important conversations sparked at the Global Landscapes Forum: Peatlands Matter thematic event held in May 2017. The platform provided a space for more than 400 peatlands stakeholders, policymakers, scientists, and private sector actors to convene in Jakarta, Indonesia with thousands joining in online livestreams and discussions. The Forum explored what it means to employ multi-stakeholder dialogues in practice, spearheading a community-first and people-centered approach to peatlands management.

Attend the National Policy Dialogue in Riau: http://bit.ly/2vNeqv9

Event agenda and logistics here: https://www.cifor.org/event/national-policy-dialoguelaws-and-best-practices-for-reducing-fire-and-haze/

For more information, please contact: Meutia Isty. Email: CIFOR-FireHaze@cgiar.org. Tel: (+62)812 9539 8851