Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on fire hazards forest and land in Barru District, South Sulawesi

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic poses a threat of forest destruction, especially forest fires, along with the increase of intensity of humans entering and exploring the forest. It is suspected that many people who live in urban areas have lost their jobs due to layoffs and moved to villages, and then opened new lands because their supporting facilities were no longer relevant to the current conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic. These people who abruptly start their activities in the forest and do not understand the rules of preventing forest fires are making the forests vulnerable to fires. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dangers of forest and land fires in South Sulawesi. It used a descriptive method, and data was collected through in-depth interviews with communities that are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and live around the fire-prone forest areas. The results of the observation were processed by descriptive analysis to get the conclusion. The results showed that about 72% of the affected people are carried out activities in forest areas which 78% of them did not understand the rules of forest and land fire hazards. The results of this study will be recommended to the government, particularly to the policymakers in controlling forest and land fires, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.