ARSON has been collectively identified by stakeholders as the reason behind fires which have swept across over 80 hectares of forest and peat land in Belait this year, with the intention of clearing land for illegal farming singled out as the most probable motive.

Chief Executive Officer of Brunei’s Heart of Borneo centre Mahmud Hj Yussof, who recently chaired a meeting with stakeholders involved in the protection of Belait’s peat lands, said a consensus had been reached that human action was responsible for sparking the fires, which have been recurring in the district annually during dry, windy and hot weather.

The forests opposite the 16 to 20km point along the Seria bypass, which has been the hardest hit by fires this year, have now been “claimed” by farmers who are visually marking the burnt peat land at several spots with tape, bottles and plastic bags attached to sticks.

In at least half of the marked areas, banana and papaya tree saplings have been planted, along with other vegetables.

“Our peat lands will face extinction if they continued to be damaged and cleared by fires, year after year. The reckless burning or ‘slash and burn’ technique used by these illegal farmers has to stop,” said Mahmud.

An associate expert at Wetlands International, a global non-governmental organisation which counts peat land preservation amongst its key priorities, pointed out that converting peat lands for commercial farming can have “disastrous” consequences.

Dr Jonathan Davies cited that some of the biggest forest fires and subsequent haze problems in the region have stemmed from the drainage and clearing peat lands, which are effectively swamps in their natural state.

“After a fire, the land becomes temporarily fertile because of the ash. But peat soil is acidic and does not have the right nutrients for most crops.

“On top of that draining, whether through road canals or otherwise, causes the water table (level) to drop significantly, which dramatically increases the peat's likelihood catching and spreading fire because there is much less water in the soil,” said Davies.

He also noted that while some farmers may initially only want to clear a small area for planting, fire is still used as it is the cheapest method.

“The problem is when you have compounding factors like dry and windy weather, then what was initially planned as a small fire rapidly spreads out of control,” said Davies.

He added that peat fires not only spread directly above ground by proximity, but also underground, especially if enough peat beneath the ground is dry due to a drop in the water table.

If sufficiently windy, embers may also be carried across one site to another, sparking more fires.

The Penghulu of Seria Hj Jamail Linap said that a lasting solution to the problem of illegal farming in the mukim, whether at the peat lands or otherwise, needed to incorporate suggestions for legitimate alternative farming sites.

“If you use direct physical intervention to prevent the farmers from farming illegally, they will most likely just move to another (possibly illegal) site,” said Hj Jamail.

Citing the example of Jabang – a once agricultural area that gave birth to squatter homes which are still present to this day, the Penghulu said that farming is deeply imbedded as part of Seria and the district's culture.

“Yes the illegal farming and the fires must to stop. But at the same time, for any arrangement to last, the questions of where the farmers can go has to be answered,” he said.

Occupying and cultivating state land without permission is an offence under Section 32 of Brunei's Land Code, punishable with a $2,000 fine for the first offence. Subsequent convictions will be liable to a $3,000 fine, a year in jail, or both.