This publication is supported by the ASEAN Peatland Forests Project (APFP) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Co-financing was provided by the Selangor State Government and the SEApeat project funded by the European Union (EU). Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest 2014-2023 (Vol. 2) Prepared by: Selangor State Forestry Department with technical support from Global Environment Centre (GEC). Copyright: © 2014 Selangor State Forestry Department 3rd Floor, Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abd. Aziz Shah, 40660 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. This publication should be cited as: Selangor State Forestry Department 2014, Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest 2014-2023. Reproduction of material from the publication for educational and other non-commercial purposes is authorised without prior permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. All rights reserved. First published in 2014. Printed in Malaysia by Hizi Print Sdn. Bhd. (NO. 478629-H) Book design by Global Environment Centre. Front cover photo by Selangor State Forestry Department. ISBN: 978-967-10268-5-4 FOREWORD First and foremost, it is a great honor to write the foreword to the Volume 2 of Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest 2014-2023 (IMP- NSPSF 2014-2023 Vol. 2) North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF), covering an area of 81,304 hectares is the second largest contiguous peat swamp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Over the years, NSPSF had faced with many challenges including recurring fires and forest degradation, both from inside and outside the forest reserves. While Vol. 1 of the IMP-NSPSF 2014-2023 provides a framework for the management of the NSPSF, Vol. 2 includes three key supporting documents which form the backbone of Integrated Management Plan – The Cooperative Fire Management Plan for NSPSF, The Rehabilitation Plan for NSPSF and The Buffer Zone Plan for NSPSF. These three plans tackle specific issues and represent the outcome of a broad stakeholder engagement process. The Cooperative Fire Management Plan provides guidance for multiple stakeholders to work together to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover after fires. The Rehabilitation Plan focusses on facilitating natural regeneration of forests by restoring the hydrology and ecology. The Buffer Zone Plan covers an area of 15,000ha in a strip 1km wide around the forest reserves. It is my hope that the relevant agencies would find the respective plans informative and useful. In preparing the Vol. 2 of IMP-NSPSF 2014-2023, many agencies and stakeholders were involved and provided their valuable inputs. I would like to give my sincere thanks and gratitude to all who had contributed to the process. I especially would like to thank the Selangor State government and many agencies in particular the three Land and District Offices (for Kuala Selangor, Sabak Bernam and Hulu Selangor Districts) as well as local community representatives. The Global Environment Centre and the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia helped to facilitate the preparation of the plan with support through the ASEAN Peatlands Forests Project (APFP) and SEApeat project (with funding from IFAD/GEF and the European Union respectively). We hope that the IMP-NSPSF 2014-2023 will act both as a guideline for the management of NSPSF over the next 10 years and also as a model for others in the country and region to follow. DR. MOHD PUAT BIN DAHALAN DIRECTOR, SELANGOR STATE FORESTRY DEPARTMENT INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR NORTH SELANGOR PEAT SWAMP FOREST 2014-2023 VOLUME 2 A: COOPERATIVE FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN Cooperative Fire Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This Cooperative Fire Management Plan (CFMP) for the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) was prepared by Global Environment Centre (GEC) with the intention that this plan forms a component input to the Integrated Management Plan (2014-2023). This CFMP was done through participatory process with a series of consultation workshops with multi-agencies and multi- stakeholders. The CFMP preparation was guided by the Selangor State Forestry Department and Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia with specific inputs from a number of agencies working under the APFP Smart Partnership Programme including Department of Agriculture, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysian Meteorology Department, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysian Nature Society, Sahabat Hutan Gambut Selangor Utara and Global Environment Centre. Five stakeholder consultations were organized at state and district level between November 2013 and June 2014 to enable inputs to be provided by a broad range of state and local stakeholders. Stakeholder participating tin the meetings included Respective District Offices and District Township Councils (Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor and Sabak Bernam), Department of Wildlife and National Park, Malaysia, Economic Planning Unit , Federal Department of Town and Country Panning Peninsular Malaysia, Fire and Rescue Department, Minerals and Geoscience Department, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Public Work Department, Department of Environment, Department of Veterinary and Services, Selangor Agriculture Development Corporation, FELDA, LUAS, IADA, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd, Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd., Sime Darby Plantation and Peers Consult (M) Sdn Bhd. We wish to extent our appreciation to the members of Smart Partnership programme, staffs of Selangor State Forestry Department and state government agencies and other stakeholders who had provided their valuable inputs and advice to the development of the CFMP. In addition we thank the National Coordinator of APFP facilitated the various related studies and activities. A special acknowledgement to the financial assistance given by the Global Environment Facility through the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). Co-financing was provided by the Selangor State government and the SEApeat project funded by the European Union. Special thanks are made to the ASEAN Secretariat for facilitating the APFP. A-i Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest 2014-2023 Vol. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Forming the backbone of Integrated Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF), three supported documents were developed at the request of the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia and Selangor State Forestry Department. The three documents are Cooperative Fire Management Plan for NSPSF, Rehabilitation Plan for NSPSF and Buffer Zone Management Plan for NSPSF. This is the summary for Cooperative Fire Management Plan for NSPSF. The Cooperative Fire Management Plan (CFMP) was prepared through extensive consultation with various stakeholders across the site as well as through field surveys and past experiences. It is divided into three components, the first being the development of fire management strategies. Secondly, a resource planning budget is developed at a high level to provide guidance toward the costs of implementing the plan across the site. Thirdly an implementation plan has been prepared for both the prevention and suppression components. The implementation plans are in the form of a single A3 page with attached map and it is expected that they will be updated on an annual basis to reflect changes and features that are to be implemented across the coming 12 month period. CFMP is structured around the emergency management cycle which is used to plan for and respond to natural and human disasters both at small local scales and large national scales. The four key components for the emergency cycle are prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. The CFMP essentially provides a list of strategies and action that must be carried out and implement at different times of the year, and a list of equipment and tools required for preparedness and suppression. In short, the CFMP provides details and recommendations for six fire prevention strategies, five fire preparedness strategies, six fire response strategies, four post-fire recovery strategies and a proposed five years budget. Fire prevention strategies focused on preventing fire from igniting in the first place or reducing the fire risk. For example raising water level through canal blocks and construction of clay dyke; restricting access to forest, working closely with surrounding landholders, conducting effective public information, awareness campaigns and enhancing integrated enforcement. For preparedness, strategies focused on preparation of the implementation plan, enhancing communication system for fire risk and danger rating tool and community based fire management, utilising aerial fire detection and ensuring availability of sufficient fire fighters with appropriate capabilities. Once fires start, response strategies should kick in to minimize the area affected by fire; strengthen fire-fighting teams and coordination, regular mopping up and patrolling to prevent re-ignition and formalise a cooperative fire management committee in each district. A-ii Cooperative Fire Management Plan for North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest Finally the post-fire strategies deal with assessment and documentation of lessons learned, maintenance and repair of fire equipment and infrastructure as well as rehabilitation of the damages caused by fire. In addition to that, a five year