Wildfires in Indonesia are an annual phenomenon which peak in dry El Nino years, with up to 2.6 million ha of forest and land burnt in the drought year of 2015. This is an annual disaster for the country and surrounding region, with severe impacts on the environment, as well as human health, economic and social factors. Forest Management Units (FMUs, known locally as Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan, KPH) are the implementation agencies on the ground that play a strategic role in both the prevention and suppression of forest fires. FMUs are mandated to establish a local fire brigade, to provide adequate personnel and equipment, and to carry out fire prevention as well as suppression programs. This research aimed to analyze the performance of forest fire-related policy implementation. The study was based on five FMUs in fire-prone regions of Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra, Indonesia. The performance of the FMUs is measured by achievement of the policy objectives and effectiveness of policy implementation. Our analysis shows the policies, standards and objectives to manage fire are clear for FMUs, but there are challenges in their implementation, such that fire control activities have not been fully implemented. Most FMUs have limited capacity and resources, as well as complicated budget mechanisms and low community participation. Strengthening FMU capacity will significantly improve their performance in forest fire control, particularly in the initial stages. This can be done at three scales: personnel, organization and system.

Indonesia's tropical peatlands are crucial global carbon stores but have been heavily degraded in recent decades. We present seven principles for equitable and resilient tropical peatland restoration in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, host to 19% of Indonesia's tropical peatland area, where local livelihoods, cultural practices, and indigenous social relations remain closely connected. Our collaborative methods employed a Delphi survey and focus group discussions with researchers from various disciplines to develop a shared vision for restoration. This vision served as a boundary object during interviews with diverse stakeholders involved in peatland restoration in Central Kalimantan, allowing for refinement and adaptation of the vision and the development of principles to achieve it. The principles emphasize inclusive and collaborative decision‐making, planning, and implementation; site‐specific approaches adapted to local social and ecological conditions; and ensuring the informed consent of and fair benefit distribution to all local social groups. They also emphasize a holistic, integrated, and long‐term approach to restoration that considers multiple aspects, including hydrological function, vegetation regeneration, fire prevention, locally appropriate livelihood benefits, inclusive governance, and adaptive management practices. These principles serve as a starting point for resilience‐oriented social‐ecological restoration practice and policy formulation, aiming to facilitate equitable, effective, and resilient tropical peatland restoration outcomes.

Kushartati Budiningsih, Prakoso Bhairawa Putera, Ari Nurlia, Nur Arifatul Ulya, Fitri Nurfatriani, Mimi Salminah, Dhany Yuniati and Asmanah Widarti. J Ecol Environ 2024;48:. https://doi.org/10.5141/jee.24.037

Community involvement in forest and land fires management at site level is important due to the community can play a central role in preventing forest and land fires. One of the programs that involves the community in controlling forest and land fires is the Fire Care Community or Masyarakat Peduli Api (MPA). The MPA institution is a group consisting of members who join voluntarily. As a organization, MPA requires leadership that is able to mobilize members to carry out their role. MPA Wonorejo in Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra Province, is one of the successful MPAs. In this case the leader of MPA Wonorejo received the Wana Lestari award from the Minister of Environment and Forestry in 2018. With the case study method, this research was conducted to explore the leadership style that has been applied to the Wonorejo MPA. The results showed that MPA Wonorejo's leadership style is a transformational style with charismatic characters, inspires members, encourages intellectuality and provides individual attention. The leader of MPA has an important role in mobilizing MPA members to play a role in fire control.