Why Indonesia's forest fires are so bad this year | DW News

Summary

Indonesia’s forest and land fires have burned since August, spreading across Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua. Satellite maps showed hotspots across the country, with South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan among the hardest-hit areas. The fires were described as Indonesia’s worst in a decade, and the report said more than 280,000 people had experienced health problems linked to the smoke.

Thick haze and poor visibility have disrupted daily life, though people continue going to work and some schools have reopened after temporary closures. Smoke has also crossed borders, affecting Singapore, Malaysia, and East Timor.

Several factors are worsening the fires. El Niño has brought hotter, drier conditions, with seasonal rains expected later than usual. Climate change adds to the heat and drought. Many fires are burning in drained peatlands, where flames can spread underground, smolder for months, and prove difficult to extinguish. Peat fires also release large amounts of smoke and stored carbon.

Land clearing is another major cause. Local landholders and large palm-oil companies use slash-and-burn methods because they are cheap and quick. Although Indonesia has rules allowing punishment of individuals and fines or permit revocation for companies, enforcement—particularly against large firms—was described as weak. Firefighters also reported that central-government budget cuts made their work harder.

The government said it had deployed more than 60,000 personnel, while assistance from Japan had arrived and later departed. However, people interviewed on the ground said efforts remained limited. The environment minister predicted the fires would be extinguished within a month, but experts doubted this would happen without a stronger response.

The haze is also a regional diplomatic issue. Malaysia planned to raise the matter at an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting and proposed including haze in ASEAN’s natural-disaster response mechanism. Experts questioned how much difference that would make. Indonesia’s relations with other ASEAN members had not yet been significantly affected, in part because of the bloc’s non-interference principle.

Presenters and Contributors

• Piresh Banerjee — presenter
• Ferdinand Himawan — DW correspondent in Jakarta
• Tim Schönberg — DW climate correspondent