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CAUSE

Farmers who engaged in illegal slash-and-burn practices were the one

responsible for the spread of fires that started in Sumatra’s peatland. Many

farmers are practicing slash-and-burn because it is relatively expensive way

of clearing land despite being classified as an illegal activity.

This incident keeps on happening and affecting countries of Southeast sia

for almost !" years. #hat could be the reason behind all of this$

Fire as a tool for land cleaning

There is no best tool other than fire to clean the land in preparation for

planting. %t Fire is the cheapest and fastest method. Fire is used to clear the

plant material left over from logging or old crops. Mechanically raking the

plant material into long piles and letting them rot over time& is expensive

and slow& and could harbour pests. 'learing land with machines and

chemicals can cost up to (S)!"" per hectare while using fire costs (S)* per

hectare.

Peatlands

n area of organic material such as leaves and twigs that accumulated

naturally under waterlogged conditions in the last +"&""" years is called

peatland. The layer of organic material can be up to !" m deep. %ndonesiahas !,*&*"" km!  of peatland& which comprises +./ of its land area.

Malaysia also has significant peatland& at !,&,0* km!& covering 0.+/ of its

land area.

1ecause of this condition& the peat should be drained out to prepare the soil

for planting. %n fact& other chemical methods should still be applied to

neutrali2e the soil from being in acidic condition. 3owever& excessive

drainage of peat results to drying out of the top layer. 4ue to its high carbon

content& dry peat is extremely susceptible to burning.

Dry Season: El Niño

#hat does 5l 6i7o mean for Southeast sia$

5l 6i7o generally causes drier conditions over Southeast sia and ustralia&

and the effects vary with the seasons. lthough %ndonesia is known for its

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rainy weather& during the boreal summer and fall& it has drier and longer dry

seasons. s an effect& it adds to the trigger susceptibility of producing wild

forest fires.

Corruption

%n article written by %ain Marlow 8The Globe and Mail & 9ct +:& he personally

flew from ;akarta to <ekanbaru to see the effect of the phenomenon to the

local residents. ccording to his researches& the lands were originally given

to natives of the area but eventually sold it to private companies. lthough

the villagers said that the companies were not responsible for setting the

plains on fire& they believe that other local authorities were the one the can

be blamed of. These officials benefit from the money that they receive from

the crops planted which are usually used and exported for the manufacture

of other products.