Newsletter; September 2026
THE GREEN COLUMN
From Fire Patrol, to Providing Land Fire Suppression Assistance
Tiredness is still imprinted on the faces of the smallholders who are members of the Independent smallholders Perkumpulan Petani Swadaya Bangun Seranten (PPS-BS) in Tebo, Jambi. They have just finished extinguishing land fires in the area of independent smallholders outside the group. The fire occurred in the first week of September 2026, and the location is about 25 km from the gardens of PPSBS members. The location that burned was Pintas Tuo Village. The presence of the fire team in this area is very helpful for smallholders in the Pintas Tuo area, even though the fire extinguishing process was carried out for 2 days and 2 nights.
It is unimaginable for the PPSBS group management if the fire spreads, because their gardens will certainly be affected by the fire. For this reason, with the equipment they have, they work hand in hand with local communities in extinguishing fires.
The same thing was also done by the ICS management from the Beringin Jaya Cooperative, Siak Regency, Riau Province. Gardens located on peatlands, of course, provide a challenge in isolation, because if the peat burns, it will not be stopped in simple ways. For this reason, when the ICS management of the Beringin Jaya Cooperative heard that there was a land burning in the Dayun Village area which is not far from Zamrut National Park, the ICS team from the Beringin Jaya Cooperative quickly came to the area. They together with the community, manggala agni extinguished the fire. The fire has been going on for 2 weeks from the end of August 2026, and until this writing is made, the fire is still there and the fire brigade team is still at the location. The participation of the Cooperative management is a form of contribution to the disaster faced by smallholders, and also as an effort to prevent the fire from spreading to the gardens of Cooperative members, even though the distance is quite far, which is about 30 KM, but the potential for fire spread is very large, because the majority of the area managed by smallholders is peat.
In addition to providing assistance to the affected areas, smallholders and ICS Beringin Jaya Cooperative administrators, continue to patrol the group gardens, and monitor for peat water, if there is a dry area, then they will quickly inject water into the area to prevent the area from being too dry.
The Belayan Sejahtera Cooperative in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan is also not left behind, they formed a special unit of Kelompok Tani Peduli Api (KTPA) with the aim that the Belayan Cooperative has a fire emergency response system, not only for group members but also KTPA was formed to help all parties including smallholders who are not members of the Cooperative in extinguishing fires in the event of a fire and providing special training for smallholders in monitoring and patrolling.
Although there are currently no fires that have hit smallholders, especially smallholders who are members of FORTASBI, preventive actions can still be carried out, so that regular patrols, and even throughout August to September 2026, patrols continue to be carried out by groups that are already ISPO and RSPO certified. APKSM, which operates in West Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan, has also conducted continuous patrols, to ensure that its orchards are not affected by fires.
“Fire is our biggest enemy, if the fire has entered the garden, it means we will die. We are very concerned about the current situation, and our ICS management, especially the Fire Control Unit, is ready to standby.” Widodo, the chairman of ICS APKSM, was also agreed by the Chairman of the Belayan Sejahtera Cooperative, East Kalimantan, Jamaluddin. “We are very serious about ensuring that our land is safe and the smallholder`s land around us is safe, because we are committed to meeting sustainable palm oil standards.”
The Tanjung Sehati Lestari Cooperative, Merangin, Jambi also conducted training in fire emergency action with nearby companies. The training was carried out to assist ICS Cooperative management in preventing land fires early. The training was carried out on September 9, 2026. “This training is a form of our quick action for ICS administrators in our cooperative, so that all parties have an emergency response plan. We are happy because we are assisted by the nearest company in building a fire emergency response quick action plan. Even though our garden did not burn, of course, the fire did not hit the limit.” Jalal Sayuti, Chairman of the Tanjung Sehati Lestari Cooperative.
This is an important piece of the story in the midst of this year’s El-Nino Godzila onslaught, smallholders with all their limited resources, knowledge and support, are not afraid to fight the fires that will destroy their livelihoods.
FORTASBI Annual Report 2025 – English Version
429 Downloads
- (0251) 8365959
- admin@fortasbi.org
- Jl. Artzimar III No.13B, Kec. Bogor Utara, Kota Bogor, Jawa Barat 16152