The underlying causes and impacts of fires in South-east Asia : site 5. Danau Sentarum, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

Within the framework of the CIFOR/ICRAF/ USFS project on underlying causes and impacts of fires in South-east Asia 8 sites were studi ed in detail by linking spatial data with socio- economic information to provide a solid basis fo r a scientific study of the causes and impacts of vegetation fires. This report provides the results of an analysis of th e causes and impacts of vegetation fires in the Danau Sentarum ar ea in West Kalimantan Indonesia. The 250000 ha site is an area of open lakes and seasonally flooded swamp forests surrounded by low hills. Most of the site (197000 ha) falls within the Danau Sentarum National Park. Two general fire regimes are present in the study area. One is seen in the upland areas and along the larger rivers where fire has been used for centuries as part of the swidden agriculture system. The other is seen in the low-lying swamp forest s in and around the lakes where fire has been present for centuries but not for any apparent use such as cultivation. The methodology adopted for this site varies sligh tly from others in the study. Similar to other sites landscape level analysis was the basis but within the site 5 villages were selected for more detailed analysis. This applied to both the socio-economic as well as the remote sensing/GIS analysis. This approach enabled a deeper understanding of the complex issues surrounding the relationship between local communities and fires in the swamp forest. The research confirmed the locally held view that swamp forest fires have been worsening since the early 1990s. Satellite imagery showed th at burn scars in swamp areas increased from 5483 ha in 1973 to 18905 ha in 1997. The reasons for fires in the swamp forest were clear. In broad terms the results of the village intervie ws indicated that there are three main reasons for fires: resource extraction; increased popula tion and greater access; and climatic conditions conducive to fire. However the underlying causes were less obvious. Villages with apparently similar characteristics showed different experien ces with fire. It was concluded that factors associated with community structure and orga nization strength of cust omary laws perceived value of the forest and inter-village relationshi ps play a crucial role in the absence or presence of fires.

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