Forest and land fires in Indonesia, particularly in Kalimantan, represent an ongoing socio-ecological challenge. Fire events cannot be explained by a single causal factor, as fire regimes are shaped by interactions among ignition sources, vegetation and fuel conditions, climate variability, land-use change, and human activities. Peatlands are particularly vulnerable because prolonged dry periods can increase their flammability and allow fires to spread extensively. In South Kalimantan, for example, peatland degradation and drainage have been identified as important factors increasing vulnerability to fire (Qamariyanti et al., 2023).

Human activities remain one of the important sources of fire ignition. However, a distinction needs to be made between uncontrolled burning and traditional agricultural burning carried out within customary land-management systems. Research on the Dayak Bangkalaan community in South Kalimantan shows that traditional land-clearing practices using fire are accompanied by specific control mechanisms, including the construction of firebreaks, short-duration burning, supervision, restrictions on the area of land cleared, and customary rules governing forest use (Muhtar et al., 2019). Similar findings have been reported in research on traditional shifting cultivation systems in Central Kalimantan, where controlled burning forms part of a broader agricultural and cultural system rather than simply being an individual act of setting fire (Juriyah et al., 2024).

This distinction is particularly important in the context of Indonesian environmental law. Article 69 paragraph (1) letter h of Law No. 32 of 2009 prohibits land clearing by burning. At the same time, Article 69 paragraph (2) provides recognition of local wisdom in the application of this provision. The explanatory section of the law refers to limited traditional burning practices involving a maximum area of two hectares per household, the use of local plant varieties, and the establishment of firebreaks to prevent the spread of fire.

This legal framework illustrates a tension between the general prohibition on burning and the limited recognition of traditional practices. The situation becomes increasingly complex when the social institutions that support traditional agricultural practices undergo change. Shifting cultivation is not merely a technical practice; it is part of a broader system encompassing social relations, ecological knowledge, customary institutions, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. Research on the Dayak Tunjung community in East Kalimantan indicates that land-use changes, including the expansion of monoculture plantations and mining activities, are associated with the weakening of shifting cultivation practices and traditional ecological knowledge (Rijal et al., 2025). Maring (2020) likewise demonstrates how market-oriented economic transformation and the expansion of large-scale land control have altered the livelihood strategies of shifting-cultivation communities in West Kalimantan.

Therefore, fire-management policies face two interconnected challenges. First, uncontrolled fires must be prevented because they generate ecological, health, economic, and climate-related impacts. Second, policies should not equate all forms of traditional burning with uncontrolled or destructive fires. Recent research in Central Kalimantan indicates that gaps between formal regulations and local community practices can create social and legal tensions, highlighting the need to harmonize local knowledge with public policy (Hikmah et al., 2025).

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