Abstract Every 35 years, El Niño driven severe forest and land fires have occurred in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. In 1997/98, approximately 5.2 million ha were burned, affecting 25 percent of the entire province. During the last 20 years, fire prevention and suppression efforts have been limited and ineffective. Since 1994, the Integrated Forest Fire Management (IFFM) project has been supporting the provincial forestry department in developing a comprehensive fire management approach that includes prevention, information and suppression. An important aspect of this approach is the cooperation among agencies, the private sector and local communities. This paper focuses on the basic strategy and contents of a communitybased fire management (CBFiM) system at the village level. Extension, training and technical support for village fire crews are planned to benefit the entire community. In addition, environmental education programmes are designed to increase public awareness of the negative impacts of wildfires. The Fire Information Unit supports CBFiM by providing information on fire occurrence, fire danger criteria and fire risk maps, while the Fire Operation Unit trains village fire crews. The provincial and district fire centres are the hubs of a governmental fire management organization. The role of these fire centres in promoting CBFiM is discussed. |