Enviro News Asia, East Kalimantan — The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry is strengthening community participation in preventing forest and land fires by integrating Social Forestry beneficiaries into local fire prevention and monitoring efforts.
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni held an interactive dialogue with six Social Forestry groups during a working visit to Merasa Village, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan, on August 27, 2026. The discussion focused on improving community livelihoods while encouraging residents to play an active role in protecting forest areas from the threat of forest and land fires, locally known as karhutla.
The six groups involved in the dialogue were KTH Pilanjau Lestari Squad, LPHD Lobang Beloh, LPHD Tebangan Lembak Dulun Batu Mate, KTH Sungai Alun Lestari, LD Mara I and LD Mara Hilir.
The groups received management rights over approximately 11,933 hectares of forest area, benefiting 1,023 households across Berau and Kutai Timur in East Kalimantan, as well as Bulungan in North Kalimantan.
At the national level, the Social Forestry program has now covered approximately 8.41 million hectares managed by 11,292 groups, with around 1.43 million households receiving benefits.
During the dialogue, Antoni listened to community aspirations and discussed opportunities to develop local economic activities. The groups are developing commodities and businesses including agroforestry, ecotourism, honey, rattan, agarwood and silvofishery.
Antoni said legal access to forest resources must be accompanied by a strong commitment to environmental protection, particularly during periods when the risk of forest and land fires increases.
“The management permits must be optimized to improve community welfare through existing local potential. At the same time, communities have a major responsibility to protect the area, increase vigilance and actively participate in preventing and handling forest and land fires,” Antoni said.
All Social Forestry beneficiary groups in the area are also part of the Fire-Aware Communities (Masyarakat Peduli Api/MPA). Their proximity to forest areas gives local residents an important role in detecting fires at an early stage, conducting regular patrols and reporting incidents quickly before fires spread.
The Ministry of Forestry said continued assistance is essential to ensure that Social Forestry does not stop at the distribution of forest management documents. Support will also focus on strengthening community institutions and developing environmentally sustainable businesses.
Through this integrated approach, communities are expected to become key actors in local economic development while serving as strategic partners for the government in protecting Indonesia’s forests from the threat of forest and land fires.
The government considers community-based forest management an important component of its broader strategy to prevent forest fires while improving the economic well-being of communities living around forest areas. (*)
