Economic losses and forest fire causes at Ranu Pani Resort, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park

Abstract

Forest fire is one of the main causes of forest destruction that can threaten the sustainability of forest resources. Uncontrolled forest and land fires can generate environmental damages in several aspects, i.e. social, economy, and ecology. Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) is one of the national parks in East Java province which is frequently experiences forest fire. The largest forest fire in TNBTS area in 2015 was located in Ranu Pani Resort, which is the entrance of hiking trails in Semeru Mountain. Forest fires on Ranu Pani Resort caused substantial losses for communities and managers. Considering the important role of the national park in managing and protecting forest resources, research about economic losses due to forest fire, the time pattern of forest fire, and the causal factors of forest fires in Ranu Pani Resort is necessary. Data analysis in this research include benefit transfer approaches, loss of earning, descriptive analysis, and logistic regression. Result show that total economic loss of forest fires in Ranu Pani Resort is IDR 2,296,172,122. The forest fires on Ranu Pani Resort often occur in August, September and October. Human factors (the number of farmers) are more likely to cause fires in TNTBS compared to natural factors (intensity of rainfall).