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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.