Local | PANORAMA

Optimisation of the Public Financing Instrument

To optimise the public financing instrument, BioInvest works with entities from the public sector such as the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) and the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) to integrate sustainability criteria into their financing instruments. This involves optimising existing programmes to support biodiversity-friendly businesses.

Close cooperation with the public sector, clear understanding of sustainability criteria, and effective communication are essential.

Clearly communicating the objectives of the financing instruments is vital. Ensuring that both the enterprises and the government understand the goals and intended outcomes of the programmes establishes a foundation for successful collaboration. This transparency aids in building trust and fostering a supportive environment for the development of biodiversity-friendly businesses.

Implementation

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Recovery

Kampong Prak CFi floodplain tree nursery

N J Souter

A small tree seedling emerging from the wet soil

Germinated flooded forest tree seedling

N J Souter

Transplanted flooded forest tree seedling

N J Souter

Two ladies tending seedlings in a tree nursery

Kampong Prak Women's Saving Group members tending the community fishery nursery

N J Souter

Recovery from wildfire involves looking after community welfare, repairing infrastructure, and restoring fire-damaged landscapes. Wildfire on the Tonle Sap Lake has the greatest impact on the natural environment. Fortunately, direct impacts of wildfire on people and infrastructure are rare. Thus, recovery involves the restoration of fire-damaged vegetation. This involves determining which areas can be restored and which are left as they are. Some areas such as paths through thick vegetation are repeatedly burned to clear dried water hyacinth and grass to maintain access, or patches are burned to clear space for fishing nets. Each community must decide whether these areas can be restored or are best left untouched. Other areas can either be left to regrow naturally or be actively restored using techniques such as assisted natural regeneration, transplanting nursery grown seedlings or direct seeding using native species (commonly Barringtonia acutangula, Diospyros cambodiana, and Combretum trifoliatum). This generally requires outside resources, and the development of restoration plans with local communities.

Community managed restoration requires that community members are experienced in a range of restoration techniques. On the Tonle Sap this is most commonly the propagation of seeds in a nursery, with seedlings planted out at the restoration site. Due to the limited financial capacity of local communities an external source of funding is required to support restoration activities.

Slowly building community confidence in restoration is essential so they can increase the area of land restored over several years and manage that restored land.

Implementation

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Response

Fire fighters using backpack sprayers to extinguish a wildfire in shrubland

Pov Veuy CFi supressing a wildfire in flooded shrubland

Conservation International

Implementing the actions described above in review, risk reduction, and readiness allows communities to respond to wildfires. On receipt of a wildfire alert, the Community Wildfire Management Team will either send a team member or ask a nearby community member to visit the site and assess the situation. On confirmation of an active fire, the Community Wildfire Management Team will determine if it requires suppression, and if so, attend and suppress the fire with the appropriate equipment. If the fire is not threatening shrubland or flooded forest, then they will monitor the situation.

Effective fire suppression requires on-ground planning and clear roles and responsibilities among the Wildfire Management Team. It is important that a clear and safe plan is developed and agreed to amongst the team as to how to approach and suppress wildfire and each team member’s role in doing so.

Recording the details of each fire alert, confirmed wildfire, and action taken to address each wildfire is important so that we can learn from our experiences and adaptively manage wildfires in the future. This information is needed for both the review and recovery components of the 5Rs.

Effective fire suppression requires early warning of a fire, a trained and confident fire management team who can safely suppress wildfire with well-maintained locally sourced equipment.

Inexpensive locally sourced equipment that can be adapted to wildfire suppression is preferrable to expensive imported specialist equipment. Our community partners experience with locally sourced equipment demonstrated their familiarity with it, its effectiveness in suppression wildfire, and ease of replacement.

Community wildfire management team members reported that they most often used hand tools such as rakes, hoes, and bush knives to remove flammable material and create a bare earth barrier. They also used backpack water sprayers to suppress wildfire. They reported that whilst water was widely used to suppress wildfire, the larger and heavier water pump and hoses could often not be used due to difficulty in accessing sites and lack of access to water (e.g. lake, streams, or ponds). Community Wildfire Management Teams reported that a clear first description of the fire ground helped them decide on which equipment to deploy. For example, site access and a nearby supply of water is needed before a water pump and hoses are deployed.

Implementation

Monitoring

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Readiness

Joe Tilley showing wildfire behaviour on a whiteboard

Community wildfire management training

N J Souter

Fishing community members discussing and planning how to suppress a wildfire scenario

Wildfire management training group excercise

N J Souter

Wilfire training particpant reporting back to the group on outcomes of group scenario excercise

Reporting back to the wildfire training group

N J Souter

Group of people observing wildfire behaviour using a hessian cloth and wire fire table

Fire table demonstration during wildfire training

N J Souter

Community fire team member suppressing a large fire with a rake

Wildfire training - suppressing a hot fire

N J Souter

Despite the best risk reduction efforts - fires will still occur, and partner communities need to be prepared to suppress them. To be ready to suppress fire CBFiM groups require:

well maintained locally sourced fire suppression equipment including protective clothing;
fire management training; and
real-time satellite-based fire alerts.

Each community wildfire management team should frequently patrol high-fire risk areas during the fire season. This allows them to identify and address high-risk behavior before a fire starts, monitor fuel loads, and assess access routes and water availability in the event of a fire.

A functioning community wildfire management team is essential. External resources are needed to manage the wildfire alerts as due to technical constraints and community capacity they cannot be provided directly to community groups for action.

It is important that all protective clothing provided to communities is made of natural materials such as cotton, as polyester is flammable and highly dangerous when exposed to open fires. The provision of this safety equipment is important as most community members’ day to day clothes are not safe when worn to suppress wildfires.

Our partner communities reported that OroraTech’s wildfire alerts forwarded by project staff frequently warned them of fires before they were observed on the ground. This service is extremely valuable to them as they can respond quickly, investigate, and stop wildfires before they become large and uncontrollable.

Risk Reduction

Boeng Prasan CFi fire management team members providing seasonal migrants with wildfire prevention information

Conservation International

With risk reduction we work with communities to prevent wildfires — focusing resources on their underlying causes. Prevention is ab effective control measure as almost all fires on the Tonle Sap are caused by human activities. Our partner communities identified four wildfire risk reduction strategies:

Conduct multiple wildfire education and awareness sessions with local community members and seasonal migrants.
Install fire information and warning signboards at high fire risk and high conservation value areas.
Conduct joint fire suppression patrols with local authorities and FiA officials.
Identify seasonal migrants who visit the community managed area for fishing and buffalo grazing. And inform them that they will be questioned if any fires occur around their temporary camping area.
Punish people who destroy the flooded forest by applying the Fishery law, which can result in 3-5 years imprisonment.

Community fire management teams need the support of local authorities in reducing fire risk. This is necessary when approaching and working with seasonal migrants who are not known to the local villagers. Local authority support is also required when dealing with the legal aspects of reducing fire risk such as prosecuting offenders.

Posting signboards at high fire risk areas and high value sites is an effective risk reduction tool as they discourage people from lighting fires and promote responsible behaviour, particularly signboards that depict the penalties associated with lighting fires. We recommend obtaining approval from local authorities before using these signboards and seeking their advice on their deployment locations.

Community wildfire management team members should hold multiple wildfire public education sessions each year. Sessions conducted prior to the fire season seek to change people’s behaviour and reduce wildfire risk. These sessions should continue through the fire season to ensure that people remain conscious of the risk of wildfire. As wildfire is caused by people the wildfire management team should focus on educating community members and seasonal migrants whose livelihoods rely on fishing, and thus the flooded forest. Migrant fishermen and cattle grazers should be engaged as they are held responsible for lighting fires in the past. Women are encouraged to join the awareness and education sessions as they are best at reminding their family members and neighbors about the causes and dangers of wildfire. Members of the wildfire management team should share their contact details with the migrant fishermen, so they can inform them if they detect any fires.

Implementation

Monitoring

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Review

Pov Veuy CFi fire management workplan

Conservation International

Fishing community members attending a fire mapping workshop

Combined community wildfire mapping workshop between Pov Veuy, Boeng Prasan and Doun Sdaeung Community Fisheries

Conservation International

Once we have established a Community Wildfire Management Team we review their local wildfire issues and identify options for change using a range of participatory methods. Our aim is to build an understanding of how and why fires start within each community and the positive and negative impacts of fires started for different reasons, and in different areas. We recommend interviewing various people including members of the Community Wildfire Management Team, other village leaders and elders, women, youth, and local authorities.

When we understand the causes and impact of wildfire we then conduct community mapping to spatially determine:

where fires are most likely to be lit and why;
potential firebreaks or control lines within the landscape;
location of water sources;
location of access roads and tracks;
priority areas for protection (e.g. high value forest and restoration areas); and
the ability of local community members to control fires both through pre-suppression and suppression measures.

These fire maps helped each community implement measures to prevent, detect, and effectively respond to wildfire.

Building Block 1 - Community and Government Engagement needs to be completed before undertaking the review process. It is important to gain as wide a range of perspectives on wildfire as possible when reviewing each community. All communities will have different drivers, responses, and attitudes to wildfire. Understanding why fires occur, particularly if they are lit to benefit some people, is crucial in managing wildfire’s damaging impacts.

We identified seven causes of wildfire on the Tonle Sap:

wildlife hunting (turtles and honey collection);
clearing vegetation for fishing gear;
clearing vegetation to facilitate access;
clearing land for crops (rice and vegetables);
clearing and managing land for grazing;
cooking fires; and
cigarettes.

All were caused by people and the first six were deliberate. Hot and dry weather is a significant driver of wildfire, wind is a major factor in fire spreading. And in communities without fire suppression equipment rainfall is the main factor in extinguishing fires. We recommend printing and prominently displaying each community’s annual CBFiM plan so that it serves as a constant reminder of wildfire management and planned activities.

Community and Government Engagement

Fishing community members and government officials meeting around a table to discuss wildfire management.

Pov Veuy, Boeng Prasan and Doun Sdaeung CFi's meeting with the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to discuss wildfire management.

Conservation International

First, we identify a suitable community – one that is threatened by fire and has the will to address the problem, and ideally has an established community group. On the Tonle Sap Lake we have worked with Community Fishery Organizations (CFi’s), Community Protected Area Organizations (CPA’s), and Villages to implement CBFiM. Engaging a formal community organization with a recognized structure has several advantages, including recognized community leadership, management capacity, financial resources such as bank accounts, and recognition by the local authorities. From this we develop the community wildfire management team which should be integrated with both the Village and Commune authorities. The community wildfire management team forms the basis of CBFiM.

Successful establishment of CBFiM requires a committed community with sufficient management capacity and the support of local authorities. The presence of an established community group such as a Community Fishery or Community Protected Area, whilst not essential, provides a structure upon which CBFiM can be adapted and built. Strong support from the local authorities at the Village, Commune and District levels are also essential to success.

Community leaders such as CFi and CPA Committee members tend to be older men and we encourage diversifying the Community Wildfire Management Team through engaging women and younger people. Women traditionally manage household finances and can remind the fire management group about fire season preparedness. Younger members bring greater energy to the hard physical work of fire suppression.

Establishment of a network

Provision of a platform through the Tengkawang network for communication between various stakeholders at the district level to facilitate decision-making, management and sales of Tengkawang butter and derivatives.

The existence of institutions at local and sub-national levels (Tengkawang networks) is intended to serve as a bridge between farmers and Tengkawang buyers. The Tengkawang Network is an independent forum, but its members include government representatives, representatives of NGOs and donor partners, representatives of private companies, academics and community groups.

It was found that many tengkawang species have different harvest times. This is also the case for Tengkawang in other districts. Currently, the Tengkawang Network Node only exists in the Kapuas Hulu Regency. In order to become an information hub between districts, the establishment of networks in other districts with Tengkawang potential should also be considered. As the Tengkawang network is a voluntary forum, financial support from stakeholders is required to carry out the network activities. In order to obtain funding, the Tengkawang Network must be transformed from a forum into an institution with legal status.

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Business management

Identification of certification and licensing requirements and mechanisms for the management, processing and sale of Tengkawang, followed by the development of a Tengkawang business plan.

The existence of a domestic market open to non-timber forest product (NTFP) commodities as green and environmentally friendly products is an important prerequisite. The information links between producers (Tengkawang tree owners) and buyers of Tengkawang products help to create a business plan.

Licences issued by the government are required to collect NTFPs. Acquiring this licence means that the communities are legally entitled to manage and use their NTFPs. The relationship between the owners of Tengkawang trees and the buyers must be maintained through interdependence. The community as the collector fulfils all the requirements set by the buyer, while the buyer takes over the entire Tengkawang harvest from the community.

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Capacity development

Pre- and post-harvest Tengkawang management workshops were conducted, including training sessions on Tengkawang nut processing, oil extraction and production of derived products. Pre- and post-harvest tengkawang management guidelines, posters and brochures were distributed to ensure sustainable knowledge and capacity for future harvests.

The community was made aware of the additional potential of Tengkawang when processed into derivatives. There is a strong desire and interest from the community to process Tengkawang fruit. However, a prerequisite for this process is a government policy that enables a market for Tengkawang fruit and its derivatives.

As Tengkawang harvesting is only possible every three to five years, these training sessions need to be held more than once. The refresher trainings will further consolidate the knowledge acquired by the community. The training material should be produced in the form of publications that can be easily stored and reused by the community, e.g. in the form of pocket books with illustrated material and with information that is easily accessible to the community.

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