This study examines the role of economic incentives and social norms in farmers’ fire prevention behaviors using survey and remote sensing data. We focus on Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, where large peatland fires cause environmental and social problems. Our regression results indicate that farmers’ prevention behaviors are positively associated with agricultural economic returns and participation in local community mutual assistance activities. On the contrary, economic returns on non-agricultural activities are negatively associated with prevention behavior. In addition, we find no difference in fire prevention activities between villages participating in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scheme and non-participating villages. These results suggest that a performance-based incentive is important to improve the effectiveness of policies designed to prevent peatland fires and mitigate the risk of climate change.

本研究利用调查和遥感数据检验了经济激励和社会规范在农民防火行为中的作用。我们专注于印度尼西亚中加里曼丹，那里的大型泥炭地火灾会导致环境和社会问题。我们的回归结果表明，农民的预防行为与农业经济效益和参与当地社区互助活动呈正相关。相反，非农业活动的经济回报与预防行为呈负相关。此外，我们发现参与减少森林砍伐和森林退化计划的村庄与未参与的村庄之间的防火活动没有差异。