Indonesia
Society
The plan to revise the 1999 Forestry Law may fail to address decades-long poor governance in the sector that has resulted in wildfires in large parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua throughout this year’s dry season, civil groups say.
A firefighter sprays water to extinguish wildfire on Aug. 26 in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan. Around 7,600 hectares of land have been burned across the province between January and late July, according to data from the Forestry Ministry. (Antara/Auliya Rahman)
As Indonesia continue to burn, civil society groups are blaming poor forest governance and demanding sweeping regulatory reform on forestry affairs to prevent future wildfires and other hazards.In recent weeks, the country has seen more forest and land fires particularly across Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua, triggering haze that has been damaging the health of the local population as well as neighboring countries of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
