Stop Forests Fire

This is an annual burning since it attacks Indonesian forests especially in Sumatera, Sulawesi and Kalimantan in dry season. The effects of the fire through its smoke spread out not only to local community but also neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore. The embarrassing burning is influenced by some factors coming from the government, the society and the nature.

The first factor influencing forest fire comes from the government. The government gives only little awareness, enforcement to conserve the forests and to solve the problem toward it unseriously. There are two basic acts regulating forests and land fire management; Forestry Act No 41/1999 and Government Regulation No 4/2001. The first act applies the authority of the government related to fire control both inside and outside the forests and also the punishment for those who violates it. The second act provides detail provision on responsibility among Central, Provincial, and Local Government in controlling fire related to the effects to the environment. These laws seem unsuccessful since it cannot restrict all of the forests’ problems and the forest fire still happen.

The society has also taken part of influencing forest fire case. They destroy the forest only for their short terms of goal to fulfill their individual purpose such as cutting down the trees providing wood industry and burning it out to prepare the land for agriculture. They think that nobody owns the forests, so they can exploit it freely. The people only want to reach what they can see at present and do not want to consider about the future. They do not realize the forest’s benefit.

Another factor influencing the burning is nature. Obviously the humans themselves mostly cause the nature to react inharmoniously. Forests bad treatments all over the years have resulted in a significant degradation on the structure and the composition of the majority of the natural forest itself. Instead of the trees that had been damaged and since there is no regeneration of it, only savannah and kinds of brushes grow in the land. This “new generation” has led the forests becoming more flammable as opposed to their original condition, whereas the forest is considerably to be affected since it burnt once. The dry wind makes it more susceptible to fire and brings to more serious damage.

It is clear that forest fire is caused by human and natural factors. The government and society’s bad attitude toward forests make it worse, and the unfriendly natural condition can also make the damage more serious. I think it would be wiser if the government and all of us start to think about Indonesian future by preserving the forests and preventing illegal logging because the forests have essential function to make the balanced nature.