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Combating fires: Time to listen to people
Increasing awareness of mitigation efforts and channeling the issue through the people’s lens are not the only things that must be done. Since the danger is real, providing better risk mitigation efforts is necessary.
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Firefighters battle a blaze on peatland in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra on Aug. 10. The dry season has worsened fires in recent weeks. (AFP/Abdul Qodir)
Indonesia has again faced the haze from peatland and forest fires over these past weeks. The causes of the wildfires remain unclear.
However, listening to and understanding the perspectives of the residents of affected areas are vital to both tackling and preventing future fires.
While climate activists have warned the country of the greater possible effects of the haze, interestingly, people who live in the affected areas do not really perceive the threat as significant to their lives, as the findings of the Reality Check Approach reveal. For instance, people say they only experience minor discomforts like coughing or poor visibility. Whenever the haze appears, they simply need to put on a mask or stay at home.
Similarly, students are mostly enjoying their time off from school due to the haze, while some schools have simply delayed the school day by two to three hours. No further awareness is evident that the haze will affect their education in the long term.
These examples clearly show that the explanations on the dangerous effects of the haze on the people are missing crucial points. This is also because of the limited sources and explanations from the media and local public service officers, such as teachers and health officers.
As a result, the people do not perceive the forest and peatland fires as having a significant effect on their lives.
However, people start thinking about the impacts of the haze when it affects their income through events like crop failures and flooding. Forest fires usually obstruct sunlight and this affects agriculture, in most cases causing crop failures. The same problem of damaged agricultural lands results in the increased risk of flooding due to forest fires.
