Panalee Skulchokchai

Forest fires can be classified based on what part of the forests they burn into three categories which are Crown fire, Surface fire, and Ground fire. Wildfire can also be broadly divided into Flaming and Smoldering wildfire. Peat fire in Indonesia is considered to be Ground fire and Smoldering wildfire.

Even though peat fire might not be aggressive as other types of wildfire, they are very dangerous and notable as the most challenging fire to be extinguished. When compared to other types of fire, peat fire is slower, lower-temperature, flameless, and the most persistence type of combustion. However, it is much more hazardous to the ecosystem since it occurs both above and below ground. It is very challenging to detect due to its low-temperature, and because it is flameless. When it is detected, it is also well-known that it is difficult to extinguish without requiring a large amount of water.

Indonesia attempts to control peat fire in a number of ways, including peatland restoration projects, prescribed burning, water-canal firebreaks, and early warning systems - which have all been proved to be inefficient. Indonesia faces challenges such as the expense of equipment, funding from local governments, Indonesian cultural concerns, and the uncertainty of land rights. In 2019-20, Indonesian peat fires returned once again.

The Indonesian palm oil industry was imported by Dutch Colonialists in 1848 and expanded larger from a national to a transnational scale. After independence, Sukarno transferred foreign plantation companies to state ownership control, and the state encouraged the expansion of the palm oil industries in Indonesia. Many areas that the government agencies classified as forest are actually village home sites.

During the Suharto regime, due to the weakness of law enforcement, the illegal palm oil industries expanded rapidly. The expansion of palm oil plantations in Indonesia has unfavourably impacted indigenous people’s rights to their forests, livelihood, food, and culture. The persistence of law violations of the companies includes the illegal use of fire for forest clearance and illegal land ownership transformation.

The land ownership transformation before and after forest fires in palm oil plantation activities are questionable. The majority of land transformations occur from community property ownership to ownership by local elites. It was confirmed that 60% of the burnt forest between the year 2015 and 2016 were converted to palm oil plantation, and 40% were the unplanted areas which were occupied by local communities who do not have land rights or certificates. Due to the lack of property land rights protections, the land used by small farmers is always subjected to the intimidation of government officials, and corporations.

Therefore, it is possible to assume that burning activity is actually a conversion technique of land use. Local elites benefit from these land transformations; however, farmers are poorly at a disadvantage. This transformation is an illegal activity, in accordance with the Presidential Decree No. 88/2017 on the certificate of land rights in which the state forest cannot be owned by private ownership. Although there are laws that protect human rights, and the environment, the state agencies and private companies are left unpunished because of a lack of access to justice, and corruptions.

Tanjung Puting National Park is a national park in Indonesia located in the Southeast part of West Kotawaringin Agency in Central Kalimantan. The park is famous for its Orangutan Conservation and ecotourism.

Despite being a national park where the areas are needed to be protected, in 2019, the fires occurred once again in the area, and approximately 65% of the forest is degraded. After the fall of Suharto, the park was overwhelmed by illegal loggers and remained threatened by illegal logging, mining, and land clearing for agricultural purposes. During the Suharto era, the palm oil industries expanded along the border of the park, destroying the forests. The local communities had looked on as their local forests were robbed. However, after the fall of Suharto, local communities started to move into these areas, as their local forests were no longer a forbidden zone. Although the provincial government had made several attempts to eliminate illegal logging, it had little impact. Funding from the national government had also declined because of the economic crisis.

The national park is managed by two agencies; a local government and the Forestry department which belongs to the national government. However, the conflict occurs as national government policy has been disrupted by local government corruption and need for incomes provided by palm oil plantations. The concession has been expanded closer to the park; now, the park is more or less surrounded by palm oil concession.

Virtual communities or online communities are generally regarded as online “spaces” in which individuals can interact on familiar topics or interests. While, in the past, online communities mostly formed through emailing lists, or bulletin boards, nowadays, online communities are formed from web-based interfaces. One of the reasons why virtual communities have become popular is that it brings collectivity, where nowadays people are isolated and have time limitations. When people are getting far away from each other, virtual communities can provide information, help, and support.

Virtual communities encourage people to share their ideas. They offer users an outlet to write and share their stories, posting pictures about anything they have seen or heard with other followers. While many people intend to share their stories with only their friends, others share publicly, hoping to change the perceptions and opinions of larger social networks or even exchange the information with the specialists of specific fields. So, virtual communities serve as a tool to filter the data the users require since the value of information from the communities is higher compared to the recommendations from strangers. This situation will increase the growth of communities which will also increase the power of people to reach their goals.

The way online communities can affect the law transformation, which is the goal of the project is that it creates a social movement. A social movement can affect the change of legislation due to the influence of larger groups and the power of narratives in the community. Therefore, building virtual communities answers the environmental issue question of this project.