Waqf Forest may prevent forest fire from upstream

JAKARTA -- Indonesia has been in drought since July 2024. The scorching weather in various areas also coincided with the appearance of forest and land fires. In some areas, particularly Sumatra and Borneo, fires have already occurred. Based on the forest and land fire monitoring system managed by forest and environment ministry, there were 463 hotspots throughout July. Until the middle of this August, the number of hotspots reached 243 points of all provinces.

If we look at the number of fires in 2023, the trend is indeed increasing compared to the last three years. The total area of karhutla by the end of December reached 1.16 million ha or nine times the area of Java island. Still from the MHK monitoring data, the graph of emissions produced by Karhutla crawled up rather than in 2020. During 2023, for example, there were more than 182 million tons of CO2/ha emissions generated as a result of Karhutla while in 2022 the number reached only 23 million tons of CO2/ha.

Government have an effort to reduce fire. The numbers we are seeing now are indeed decreasing than during the major fires in 2015 and 2019. At the time, Indonesia was even branded a smog-exporting country given that pollution from forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo often reached Singapore and Malaysia. The government with its' firefighting 'moves and reinforcement in the enforcement aspect is proven to be doing that.

Without discouraging the government's efforts in anticipation of forest extinction, the move has not solved the root of the problem that is often become the upstream problem in Karhutla issue, the land conversion or deforestation.

In Indonesia, the land conversion is still legal. The practice is protected by the Forestry Law article 38 paragraph (1) even mentioning that the use of forest areas for development purposes outside of forestry activities can be carried out within production forest areas and protected forest areas.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs data show that 6.7 million hectares were legally transferred from the New Order to 2017. Meanwhile, the transfer of forest land that became palm groves of 3.1 million hectares, does not include illegal mining. There is also a transfer of functions through a forest area use loan permit (IPPKH) that has been issued from 1979 to 2018 covering an area of 563,463.48 hectares.

We need solutions from upstream that involve communities to prevent wildfires. As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world known as a religious society, Indonesia has social capital derived from religious values as one of the options for solving the forest fire problem. In recent times, a grassroots movement rallied by activists and academics has emerged in the form of a waqf forest. With the waqf scheme, the movement succeeded in sweetening the forest according to its agreement in perpetuity. The movement has been located at several points in Indonesia, such as in Jantho (Aceh), Bogor (West Java) to Mojokerto (East Java).

Waqf forest is a concept that arose from the principles of waqf in Islam. In simple terms a waqf forest is forest land managed or developed on the land of the waqf. Waqf land itself is land given or set aside by individuals or institutions for public use, such as the construction of mosques, schools or forests, in accordance with the tenets of the Islamic religion.

The peculiarity of the waqf forest is that its land cannot be sold, inherited, or gifted. That is, the purpose of using the land of the waqf must be for general and sustainable interests, such as maintaining the sustainability of the environment and natural resources. Thus, the waqaf forest plays a very important role in maintaining the sustainability of the environment and natural ecosystems.

One of the main reasons why waqf forests need to be developed is because of their unique characteristics. The attachment of waqf land to the principle of waqf requiring that the land be used for the public good on an ongoing basis makes it a very valuable asset in environmental preservation efforts. By maintaining the sustainability of the waqaf forest, we can ensure existing natural resources are preserved and can be enjoyed by future generations.

Waqf forests have had a long history in several societies, including Turkey, to which the concept of waqf has been applied for centuries. In Turkey, many forests and other lands are granted waqf status for the purpose of environmental preservation and other public interest, as mentioned in Selcuk Dursun's dissertation in 2007. These waqf practices reflect the Muslim community's commitment to preserving and maintaining natural resources. environmental sustainability.

In Indonesia, the waqaf forest initiative began to develop in 2012 in Aceh. The Waqf Forest developed in Aceh is named Aceh Waqf Forest. In Bogor, West Java there is the Bogor Waqf Forest managed by the Bogor Waqf Forest Foundation. It is an organization founded with the aim of developing waqaf forests in the Bogor region, West Java, Indonesia.

Through these efforts, the land granted through the waqf is professionally managed to maintain biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife. It also reduces the risk of natural disasters. Management of waqf forests can be carried out by different parties, depending on the organizational structure and regulations in force in each place. Some waqf forests are managed by foundations or community self-help agencies specifically set up for the purpose, such as the Bogor Waqf Forest Foundation in Indonesia. In other places, such as in Bandung, West Java, local governments can also manage waqaf forests.

In the context of sustainable forest management, waqf forests can provide various benefits, such as: ecosystem restoration, rehabilitation of degraded or damaged land so as to restore forest function and climate regulation. Economically, waqf forests can contribute through community empowerment activities, such as agroforestry or ecotourism, which can create additional sources of income for local communities.

In addition, waqf forests can also provide social benefits by helping to improve the quality of education and health of the surrounding communities. This can be done through environmental education programs, skills training, or providing access to basic health services.

As one of the three countries with the widest forests in the world, Indonesia's tropical forests have always been the lungs of the world. With initiatives based on local and spiritual values, it is hoped that community-based forests such as waqf forests can be one of the answers to reducing the nightmare of forest fires. With the waqf model, forests will be sustainable and deforestation can be stopped.