Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>Changes in land use and forest fires covering peatland in Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Timur (T3) are the main factors that contribute to the degradation of forest peatlands. This study aims to determine the socio-cultural and economic constraints of peatland fires against the perception of local communities in T3 Meranti Regency, Riau Indonesia. The source of data obtained from this report besides coming from literature sources is dependent on the oral history of T3 residents. Because basically, with the background of the spirit of writing “critical history”, making the primary data sources used in this paper focus more on oral history. Oral history becomes important and necessary because its existence represents how the perceptions of residents see and give meaning related to the living history of the environment in which they live. Severe peat fires through historical tracking are influenced by the habit of burning fields, decreasing purchasing power, and beginning to reduce land due to population increases. The phenomenon of finding work abroad and owing to it to the “tauke” is also a finding. So that uncontrolled fires through government policies have not been able to answer the challenges and constraints of sustainable land management. But numbers of vegetation like sago are highly recommended for economic resilience to residents, to obtain restoration and revitalizing socio-economy in the region.</jats:p>