The Amazon isn’t the only tropical region up in flames this year.
The rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia are also being put to the torch, provoking the ire of environmental activists as well as the governments of neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, whose citizens are breathing in the smoke.
Locally, tens of thousands of Indonesians are also suffering respiratory problems, numerous flights have been canceled, schools have been closed, and habitat for endanged orangutans has been threatened.
The annual fires in Indonesia, though often blamed on small farmers, are in reality closely related to land clearance activities by large plantations.
That’s also the case in Brazil, where industrial-scale farmers and ranchers announced a “day of fire” in defiance of environmental laws protecting the Amazon, and ultimately off this summer’s massive rainforest infernos.
This year’s fires are reported to be the worst since 2015 — and, like Brazil, the Indonesian government has been slow to admit to the extent of the damage and provide the necessary tools to fight the disaster.
Source: The Sidney Morning Herald (Australia), The Daylighter