The Sustainable Production Forest Management Center (BPHL) Region V held a Technical Coordination Meeting with the Forest Utilization Business Licensing (PBPH) in order to support Forestry Multi Business, Forestry Partnerships, and Implementation of the 2030 FOLU Net Sink Work Plan for achieving Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets in South Sumatra and Bangka Belitung Provinces which was held for two days (March 16-17, 2023).
During the event, appreciation was also given to several PBPH holders in South Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, Jambi, and Riau, which was handed over directly by the Director General of Sustainable Production Forest Management (Director General of PHL), Agus Justianto. There was also the launch of the Forestry Sector Mitigation Design Document Information System (SIDRAM) and the submission of the Folu Net Sink 2030 Sub-National book of South Sumatra Province and the Sustainability Legality Verification System (SVLK) guidebook.
Awarding PBPH was selected based on the recommendations from the Sumatra Region PPI. Among the assessment criteria, appreciation was given for active contributions and responsive actions in forest and land fire control to PBPHs that successfully fulfilled various assessment indicators. These indicators included monitoring the evaluation of compliance based on the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 32 of 2016, including the organization of the forest and land fire control brigade team, human resources, and infrastructure facilities.
Other criteria are forest and land fire control activities, including planning, preventing, extinguishing and post-fire handling. Other indicators include guidance to the ”Masyarakat Peduli Api” (MPA), innovation in forest and land fire control as well as hotspot data, fire spots, and ground check of field verification and company type or class.
Seven supply partners of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas in South Sumatra received awards in two categories. Two companies located in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI), PT SBA Wood Industries and PT Bumi Andalas Permai received awards based on their active contributions and responsive actions in forest and land fire control. Four partners operated in Banyuasin and Musi Banyuasin (MUBA) - PT Tripupa Jaya, PT Sumber Hijau Permai, PT Bumi Persada Permai, and PT Rimba Hutani Mas received awards for their conflict resolution efforts and community development in managing land without burning surrounding designated working areas.
Director General of PHL, Agus Justianto during the awarding night shared that based on Government Regulation Number 23 of 2021 article 149 which is also stipulated in the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation Number 8 of 2021 that PBPH holders in production forests are carried out with multi-forestry businesses and are required to carry out partnerships with communities in the forest and its surroundings.
The Director General of PHL also said that currently, all stakeholders are implementing the 2030 FOLU Net-Sink agenda, with strategies and approach to achieve the absorption rate of the FOLU sector in Indonesia that will be balanced and even higher than the level of emissions generated by 2030. During 2020-2023, the area of forest and land fires 2020 to 2023 continued to decline and this condition should be maintained by involving all parties and the community to take part and be guided to clear lands without burning.
"For the forestry sector, we also need to build supporting tools to facilitate business actors, especially PBPH, in achieving emission targets and carbon trading, one of the tools needed is the Climate Change Action and Mitigation Planning Document," Agus added.
"I hope that all the efforts we have made in achieving Indonesia's FOLU Net Sink target by 2030, especially in South Sumatra province which has an operational plan target of 1,119,970 Ha and Bangka Belitung Province covering 85,233 Ha, can be achieved," Agus said.
Meanwhile, Director APP Sinar Mas, Soewarso added, "APP Sinar Mas with its supply partners, fully supports the FOLU Net Sink target by implementing concrete steps in every business process."
"Guided by the Sustainability Roadmap Vision (SRV 2030), APP Sinar Mas strives to achieve a 30% reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, from the 2018 baseline. This target has been realized by achieving a 13% reduction in carbon intensity in 2021," Soewarso said.
On a separate occasion, participants also released wildlife species as one of the potential biological natural resources and part of the ecosystem that has a critical role in the food chain and life chain. The release of wildlife species in PBPH was implemented based on the LHK Ministerial Instruction Number 31 of 2022, considering the success of wildlife protection or zero accidents as a measurement of the success of every forest utilization effort.
"With good forest management, we hope that our future generations can benefit and live comfortably on the earth that we love," Agus said.
On March 17, 2023, the Director General of PHL conducted a working visit to review the readiness of karhutla infrastructure and facilities in APP Sinar Mas’ supply partners in OKI Regency; and reviewed the implementation of elephant food planting and other wildlife in Air Sugihan.
On that occasion, the Director General of PHL, his staff, and company leaders planted the Elephant Grass. Two lorises (Nycticebus Coucang) were also handed over from the Director General of PHL to the Director of PT Bumi Andalas Permai (BAP). This animal was initially found by the community and delivered to the South Sumatra BKSDA. Furthermore, after the process of handover, the species are released by the BKSDA team and the company's conservation team to PT BAP’s Conservation Area.
The Director General of PHL highly appreciates the company's conservation program and karhutla control system and hopes that it can be replicated elsewhere.
APP Sinar Mas and its Supply Partners Implement the IFM
To prevent forest and land fires, APP Sinar Mas and its supply partners have developed a comprehensive fire management system called Integrated Fire Management (IFM). This strategy consists of four pillars: prevention, preparation, early detection, and rapid response.
The IFM is not only applied in the event of a fire, but also in narrowing the potential for fire occurrence. The prevention stage includes identifying risk factors that cause fires and mitigating the causes of fires by developing integrated forestry and agriculture systems, one of which is through the Desa Makmur Peduli API (DMPA) program. The prevention program also builds canal blocks to maintain moisture and prevent fires on peatlands and provides incentives to local communities to do fire prevention patrol.
The preparation phase involves providing the infrastructure, equipment, and training in the event of a fire. National and international fire management experts provided training to the Fire Fighting Team (RPK), as well as joint training with various stakeholders.
At the early detection stage, hot spot monitoring is carried out through internal and external satellites, as well as wind direction and weather monitoring. Monitoring is carried out by helicopter patrols, land patrols, water patrols, monitoring posts, fire towers, CCTVs, and drones.
If a hotspot is found, a rapid response strategy is implemented where the RPK team is equipped with firefighting equipment to move quickly to the location of the fire to prevent the fire from spreading. The use of water bombing helicopters with a capacity of 4,000 liters of water is one of the tools to distinguish the fire.
The commitment of APP Sinar Mas and its supply partners in mitigating karhutla focuses on sustainable aspects that refer to the Sustainability Roadmap Vision (SRV 2030). This is also in accordance with Indonesia's commitment through the 2030 FOLU Net Sink to encourage the achievement of GHG emission levels of -140 million tons CO2e by 2030 with a structured and systematic approach.
The program implementation is a concrete manifestation of Indonesian forestry’s commitment, both for the national and global community towards green recovery, while building an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economy.
