The underlying causes and impacts of fires in South-east Asia. Site 7. Tumbang Titi, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

This report provides an analysis of causes and impacts of vegetation fires in the Tumbang Titi area, Ketapang District, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The Landstat TM and SAR Image level analysis indicated that natural forest decreased from 473,300 ha in 1989 to 127,335 ha in 1996. Socio-economic research at the landscape level indicated that alang-alang (Imperatacylindrica) accounted for almost 22% of the land cover of the study area. In 1997, large-scale fires burned up 29 % of the land area of the site, including Imperatagrassland, remaining forest, and smallholder and largescale plantations. Imperata grasslands were most affected by the 1997 fires. Socio-economic research indicated that three main forces were responsible for land degradation from humid tropical rain forest to Imperata grassland: shifting cultivation, commercial logging and illegal gold mining. Three phases of land use change were evident on this study site. First, the widespread development of Imperata grasslands as the final stage of land degradation, following the intensive exploitation and conversion of humid tropical rain forest. Second, the expansion of smallholder, large scale commercial, and local government interest in using the Imperatagrasslands. And third, local community shift to more profitable land use activities such as gold mining in the wake of the economic crisis

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