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Fire management, community partnerships and rural development in Nusa Tenggara Timur: lessons from an ACIAR-funded project in Sumba Timur and Ngada
Conference paper   Peer reviewed

Fire management, community partnerships and rural development in Nusa Tenggara Timur: lessons from an ACIAR-funded project in Sumba Timur and Ngada

Jeremey Russell-Smith, S Djoeroemana, Greg J E Hill, J Maan, B A Myers and P Pandanga
Proceedings International Workshop on Integrated Rural Development in NTT, pp.97-103
Integrated Rural Development in Nusa Tenggara Timur Workshop, 2006 (Kupang, Indonesia, 05-Apr-2006–07-Apr-2006)
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
2007
url
http://fireindon.cdu.edu.au/workshop/workshop.htmlView
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Abstract

Human Geography Nusa Tenggara Timur fire management Indonesia
Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) supports over 4.5 million people; 85% of the population is reliant on subsistence agriculture. Much of NTT comprises fire-prone savanna. Fire is used as an essential tool both in pastoral and cropping management systems. Given rapid transformation of rural societal structures in recent decades, high population growth (2% p.a.), limited well-watered land, and significant inter-community and community-governmental land tenure conflicts, across much of NTT there has been a breakdown of traditional forms of locally-coordinated fire management with the result being that uncontrolled fires today significantly impact on environmental assets, livelihood resources, and economic conditions. Building on preliminary regional workshops held in Kupang in 1995, and Darwin in 1998, a research project focusing on developing fire management capacity in regional NTT institutions and communities formally commenced in 2000 with funding support principally from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and other Australian partners. The project has demonstrated coordinated, community-based approaches to fire management at four village-scale demonstration sites in eastern Sumba and central Flores. Working with local communities, NTT Government (Provincial Planning Board-BAPPEDA NTT, Forestry Dept-Dinas Kehutanan), higher education (Wira Wacana Christian School of Economics, Satya Wacana University), and the well organised local NGO sector, the project has implemented: • fire management activities at each study village (ranging in size from 10-70 km2), focusing especially on protection of high-value agro-forestry plantings. Importantly, this component of the project was developed within an 'action research' framework, where activities are collectively developed, monitored and assessed by community, institutional and research partners. • community extension, planning and training activities-the latter including remote sensing (fire mapping using satellite data) and associated GIS training for BAPPEDA NTT staff, and resource inventory training focusing on assessing the status of limited remaining forest resources. • educational capacity development, particularly through the transfer of tertiary ecological modules developed through the Tropical Savannas Cooperative Research Centre, and associated training courses, delivered to Satya Wacana University (based at Salatiga, Java), a major higher education supplier to NTT. A recent independent review found that the project approach successfully addressed local needs by being inclusive of all community and institutional partners.

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