Underlying cause of fire: Different form of land tenure conflicts in Sumatra

One of the social phenomena that have arisen in Indonesia in the post-Reformasi period (mid-1998) is the increase in land tenure conflicts between local communities and tree plantation companies, and between local communities and the forestry department. Land tenure conflicts often trigger forest and land fires, which is both a symptom and a cause of increasing conflict over tenure and use rights. If the tenure issue is not appropriately addressed, it will continue to result in unwanted fires and forest degradation, related smoke and gas emissions, and environmental and economic losses. A recent study in Sumatra revealed that, in many cases, (1) tenure conflicts between companies and communities, resulting from past government policies and practices, often trigger forest and land fires because of frustrations by the communities of being unable to have their claims heard in a fair and transparent judicial system; and (2) even with the use of military force, forest policy and management has largely failed to protect forest resources when local communities were not involved. The nature of the partnership between communities and companies in land use development is also an important factor in influencing the incidence and control of fire.