At least 1.5 million hectares in various parts of Indonesia, are participating in community-based fire prevention initiatives, with commitment to extend in Malaysia.
This is the 1st year result of the Fire Free Alliance (FFA), an alliance of forestry and agriculture companies, NGOs, IDH and others, that have teamed up to resolve Indonesia’s persistent fire and haze issues. To showcase the achievements on supporting the Government of Indonesia’s leadership on fire prevention, the FFA released the FFA Members Review 2016 during the 2017 Responsible Business Forum, 13-15 March 2017 in Jakarta.
Commitment from the member companies
Tony Wood from IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative: “The Fire Free Alliance provides a strong and clear commitment from member companies now also including Sime Darby and the IOI Group, two leading Palm Oil Players in Malaysia towards preventing forest fires now and in the future. IDH is actively involved in developing and translating a generic toolkit, which disseminates the benefits to potential partners, and we are involved in directly sponsoring villages.
This year, IDH’s objective within the FFA is to identify 109 villages to partake in the Fire-free Program. We will also continue our support on CPO Funding to develop 5 villages to fire-free villages and to directly develop one fire-free village in a high-risk area. We will engage with these six villages as part of the awareness-building program. IDH will also work together with the Belantara Foundation to developing financial control systems for villages which decide to use a revolving support fund rather than direct rewards for being fire free.”
“The FFA was established to help members share knowledge and resources. It serves as a platform for members to help one another develop the most effective strategies to prevent and manage fire risks through long-term partnerships with communities across Indonesia and Malaysia,” said Dorjee Sun, Director of Carbon Conservation which serves as FFA’s secretariat.
Tony Wood adds: “The knowledge sharing and protocol setting at the senior level represents a breakthrough for Indonesian companies who are now demonstrating that by working together, everyone can win. Of even greater significance has been the enthusiasm and immediate success at the operational level, by those who physically identify villages to participate in and implement the programs. This combined is what is leading to the success of the program at the village level.”
About Fire Free Alliance (FFA). The FFA was launched on 29 February 2016 and is a voluntary, multi- stakeholder platform comprising forestry and agriculture companies, NGOs and other concerned partners keen to contribute to a solution to Indonesia’s persistent fire and haze problems with a focus on fire prevention through community engagement. Founding members include APRIL, Asian Agri, IDH, Musim Mas, PM.Haze, and Wilmar. Joined in 2017 by new members Sime Darby and IOI Group, FFA has fostered a culture of sharing, trust and collaboration amongst its members and a members’ based information-sharing platform.
About Fire Free Village Programme (FFVP). FFVP is a fire management programme that seeks to prevent the fires by focusing on engagement with the community. Initiated and led by APRIL, FFVP was first piloted in 2014 and officially launched in mid 2015. With support from local NGOs the FFVP’s mix of community level engagement, no burn incentives, capability building and awareness and education initiatives significantly reduced incidences of fire among participating communities. As well as drawing on the FFVP programme elements and the experience of participating companies, the FFA helps member companies tailor and adapt the programme to meet the specific fire prevention needs in the communities where they operate.