Why fires in indonesia

Bloomberg reports that at least indigenous people from small communities have fled the fires; two have died. Here, the irony must not be overlooked: As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC recently acknowledged , indigenous peoples are among the most effective change agents in protecting land from unsustainable development and tackling climate change. Their absence from the landscape is a loss for all of us. SIGAP introduces villages to conservation in an immediately tangible way: We help secure legal rights for communities to access and manage their natural resources, plan future development that can be sustainable and explore new livelihood opportunities such as eco-tourism that provide needed revenue.

Herlina Hartanto. As a SIGAP pilot site, Merabu has secured greater government support for local priorities, such as improved monitoring efforts of protected forest areas and the development of more diverse livelihood options.

In popular culture, the Amazon is the enduring star of tropical forests. Sumatran rhinos, which have a wild population estimated at fewer than individuals, secretly roam here. Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, gibbons, Asian elephants and clouded leopards are just some of the other awesome animals that live in Indonesian forests. The Amazon is on fire. We are working at all levels to propel sustainable development and responsible forestry efforts.

Conserving tropical forests and tackling climate change. Back To Top. Forest fires in Borneo, Indonesia, are rampant in Borneo, Indonesia Tropical forest areas that have been deforested through a process of slash and burn to open areas for agriculture and subsistence farming in the Kalimantan region of Borneo, Indonesia. How were the fires in Indonesia caused? There have also been cases of open burning in neighbouring Malaysia, though it pales in comparison to Indonesia. The burning usually peaks from July to October during Indonesia's dry season.

Many farmers take advantage of the conditions to clear vegetation for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations using the slash-and-burn method. They often spin out of control and spread into protected forested areas.

The problem has accelerated in recent years as more land has been cleared for expanding plantations for the lucrative palm oil trade. The burnt land also becomes drier, which makes it more likely to catch fire the next time there are slash-and-burn clearings. The haze usually measures hundreds of kilometres across. It has spread to Malaysia, Singapore, the south of Thailand and the Philippines, causing a significant deterioration in air quality.

In Malaysia, hundreds of schools have been forced to close after the haze reached "very unhealthy levels" of on the Air Pollutants Index API in several districts. On 14 September, Pollutants Standards Index PSI levels in Singapore went beyond the mark for the first time in three years, though it's yet to reach the hazardous levels of In , the PSI level in Singapore was at - schools were forced to close and several fast-food chains suspended their delivery services.

On both indices, a reading above is classified as unhealthy and anything above is hazardous. But it's in Indonesia where the impact is most felt. For many, its a reminder of , the country's last major haze crisis. When she was taken to the emergency room, it turned out to be because of the smoke. If I'm inside the house I have to turn on the lights. It's so dark. Besides irritating the respiratory tract and the eyes, pollutants in the haze can cause serious long-term damage to health.

The indices used to measure air quality in the region usually measure particulate matter PM10 , fine particulate matter PM2.

It has been associated with causing respiratory illnesses and lung damage. Over the years, forest fires have destroyed much of the natural habitat of Indonesia's orangutans and released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Kalimantan is home to many of the region's orangutans. The Bornean orangutan is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Indonesia has been dumping millions of litres of water in affected areas and has sent in the army to help fire fighters. The country has for years promised to step up enforcement. Under President Joko Widodo, it has named 10 corporations as suspects this year, and said it is investigating more than individuals.

In September , Mr Widodo told the BBC his country needed at least three years to tackle the haze as it was "not a problem you can solve quickly". Almost four years later, the forests in Indonesia continue to burn. Indonesia has long struggled to police the vast rural expanse in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The slash-and-burn technique employed by many in the region is arguably the easiest way for farmers to clear their land and helps them get rid of any disease that may have affected their crops.

But it's not just small-scale farmers at work here. The concern is many of these fires are started by big corporations that want to plant oil palm plantations. Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil and the demand for the commodity has been rising. This means there is need for extra land for palm oil plantations. But Indonesia and environment rights activists also say the country is not entirely to blame, as some of the big corporations accused of illegal burning have Malaysian and Singaporean investors.

Slash-and-burn is illegal in Indonesia but has been allowed to continue for years, with some saying corruption and weak governance have contributed to the situation.