FGD Strategic Policies in National and Regional Level for Haze Crisis Prevention in Indonesia

Various speakers including from the Peat Land Restoration Agency (BRG), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the National Disaster Response Agency (BNPB), and Walhi Riau shared their latest updates on the matter. In order to get a complete understanding on the causes and solution to the peat land fire in Indonesia, one must look closely into the peat land areas which have been heavily converted into the industrial forest plantation and palm oil plantation. Once peat land is dried, it is extremely easy to get burned. Having ratified the ASEAN Agreement for Transboundary Haze Polution (AATHP), the government of Indonesia committed to restore the peat land area into its original function, primarily by establishing the Peat Land Restoration Agency (or Badan Restorasi Gambut). However this is only one step to comprehensively restore the area. The livelihood of the people living there should be balanced between the economic and the ecological aspect. The regional aspect is no less important, because most of the palm oil plantations are owned by companies in Singapore and Malaysia. So a regional approach is also needed.