Workshop on Fire Prevention by Ketapang Multistakeholder Forum
Indonesia - 22 December, 2021
Ketapang, 21 December 2021: In 2020, Ketapang District government, together with Kalimantan Forest (Kalfor/KLHK/UNDP), has facilitated the establishment of a 'Multistakeholder Platform for Sustainable Natural Resources Management'. The MS Platform was established with the main mandate to facilitate and address issues on developments at district level which needs to be formulated by involving various stakeholders in a collaborative manner. One of the issues that has been brought up to be discussed at the MS Platform is the prevention of forest, plantation, and land fires (Karhutbunla) in Pawan-Kepulu-Pesaguhan Peat Hydrological Units (PP PHUs) that has been facilitated by the Ketapang District Government together with Tropenbos Indonesia.
On December 21st, 2021, Ketapang MS Platform held a workshop to socialize efforts to prevent forest and land fires based on peat restoration and identify collaboration for the prevention efforts among relevant stakeholders in Ketapang District. The workshop was conducted at the Grand Zuri Hotel, Ketapang, with online participation through zoom. It was attended by 50 participants as representatives of various organizations and agencies, namely, the Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency, Planning Agency, Research and Development Agency, Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency, Village Development Agency, South Ketapang Forest Management Unit (FMU), North Ketapang FMU, Gunung Palung National Park, Inter-Village Community Forum of PP PHUs, representatives of NGOs, indigenous communities, as well as private sectors such as PT Arthu, PT. BGA, PT. KAL etc. and Tropenbos Indonesia.
The workshop was opened by the Regent of Ketapang, represented by Mr. Junaidi Firawan, S.Sos, Expert Staff for Economics and Natural Resources. In his opening remarks, he emphasized the importance of a multi-stakeholder collaboration in the planning and implementation of fire prevention program based on peat restoration management through Rewetting, Revegetation, and Revitalization (3R). Tropenbos Indonesia will provide technical and logistic assistance until 2023, as stated by Dr. Edi Purwanto (Director) at the opening. In addition, Tropenbos Indonesia also expressed the importance of adopting an integrated approach of fire prevention and sustainable peatland management as a holistic way of addressing peatland fires as well as improving current land use practices.
In line with the above efforts, MoUs are being developed between Ketapang District government and BRGM (Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency) and also between BRGM and Tropenbos Indonesia. The supports and technical expertise of BRGM are crucial for the various restoration efforts, most especially on the rewetting planning and design. Follow-up implementation on the ground will involve Ketapang government, the Inter-Village Community Forum (as the multistakeholders platform at the PP PHU level), village governments, communities, NGOs and possibly also the private sector.
The workshop was closed by the Head of the MS Platform, Mr. Donatus Rantan. He reiterated that the ‘Short-term and Long-term Action Plans’ developed in the previous multistakeholders discussion should become the basis for follow-up actions and measures of fire prevention in the PP PHUs.
See also: The launch of Fire Prevention Masterplan in Ketapang District