MEDIA ADVISORY
CIFOR works with local communities to find best practices to prevent forest fires and restore peatlands
Bogor, 18 September 2018 — Indonesia’s Riau province suffered greatly from wildfires in 2015, with 24 people killed and 103,000 premature deaths. Experts predict that this year will also be a critical year for fires as higher temperatures are expected combined with the fact that nearly 56% (5 million hectares) of Riau is peatlands, which are fire prone if dried and degraded, and have the potential to release massive amounts of carbon.
To help, the Center of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is working with the local government of Riau with support from Temasek Foundation International and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise to establish participatory action research involving local communities. The project will combine the scientific knowledge and resources of companies and governments with the local knowledge to help local communities in Riau’s Bengkalis district to implement land clearing without using fire, restore degraded peatlands and improve community welfare.
A kick-off meeting for “Participatory Action Research Community-Based Fire Prevention and Restoration in Bengkalis district” is scheduled for 18 September 2018 in Bengkalis district, Riau province.
The meeting will officially start the project in Bengkalis, a district with 750,000 hectares of peatlands and a high level of fire risk; nearly half of it subdistricts are considered fire prone. Over the course of the project, CIFOR and its partners will work with local communities to review lessons learned and best practices for fire prevention and peatland restoration; risk reduction; and applying local knowledge to controlled and safe burning.
The main objectives of the kick-off meeting include informing stakeholders on the implementation of participatory action objectives, approaches, results and outcomes; sharing lessons about policies and implementation of community-based fire prevention and restoration; and comprehending related business model.
Expected to attend the kick-off meeting are a wide stakeholders from government, academia, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.
Term of Reference: English Bahasa
About CIFOR
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) advances human well-being, equity and environmental integrity by conducting innovative research, developing partners’ capacity, and actively engaging in dialogue with all stakeholders to inform policies and practices that affect forests and people. CIFOR is a CGIAR Research Center, and leads the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). Our headquarters are in Bogor, Indonesia, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya, Yaounde, Cameroon, and Lima, Peru.
For more information, please contact:
Herry Purnomo
Scientist
CIFOR & IPB
Email: h.purnomo@cgiar.org
Heru Komarudin
Researcher
CIFOR
Email: h.komarudin@cgiar.org
Budhy Kristanty
Communications Officer Indonesia Program
Email: b.kristanty@cgiar.org
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