Feri Irawan, Coordinator of Simpul Jaringan Pantau Gambut Jambi believes that the law enforcement effort in the forest and land fires case in Jambi was unfair. In his opinion, police officers should also be able to quickly process companies whose concession areas are burned.
"Actually, it's the same as the farmers, it's clear that once the company has been issued a permit, they have to be responsible for the concession area, if the area is burned or flooded, they are the ones who are responsible," he said.
In his opinion, law enforcement officers should also have other considerations when arresting farmers who cleared land, such as the merun culture— the local wisdom method of clearing land by burning. The PPLH Law allows the farmers to clear two hectares of land.
"The law enforcement assertiveness must be balanced. Don’t take too long in processing the companies’ investigation, while farmers who only use a small plot of land to plant vegetables using the traditional method are immediately arrested."
Amidst economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Feri is worried that the arrest of these farmers, who clear land to plant food for their own needs, might lead to new problems.
“The authorities must be assertive, but they should also take a lot of considerations. The fires that occur are also a result of the company's activities. The peatlands have dried up due to the canals built by the company, which has affected the surrounding areas and made them dry and prone to fires,” he said.
In his opinion, the government and law enforcement officers must also be familiar with the peat characteristics to handle forest and land fires cases. "The haze from the fires is not the only important factor, but the cause and effect must also be considered. Then the suspect could be named."
Feri stated that the success of handling forest and land fires cases is not measured by how many land fire perpetrators were caught, but by successfully preventing future fires. He is worried that the law enforcement gap will create a negative impression on the government, which seems to be protecting the companies.
The fires in Jambi are also caused by the peatlands being damaged and converted into plantations. The canals built by the company to drain the peatlands also caused the surrounding areas to dry up.
“In the past, people who carried out the Merun method would not cause fires because the peat was still wet. Now, the peat has been damaged, so it easily burns,” said Feri.
He encouraged the government to wet all of the peat areas, hence it won’t easily burn, especially during the dry season. From January to 22 August 2020, the Jambi Province BPBD only documented 247 hectares of burnt land and forest areas. Bachyuni Deliansyah, Head of the Jambi Provincial Disaster Management Agency, said that this year’s low number of forest and land fires was because the government is more prepared. In addition, the government also benefited from the wet-dry season this year.
PT ATGA’s case
