Indonesia Struggles to Control Escalating Forest Fires Despite Intensive Efforts
Indonesia faces severe challenges in controlling forest fires, with toxic haze affecting neighboring countries. Authorities deploy thousands to combat blazes.
POLICY WIRE — Pontianak, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities are making extensive efforts to contain widespread forest fires, but the vast scale of the territory and complex peatland conditions continue to pose major obstacles.
A senior government official emphasized that all available resources are being mobilized, including 64 aircraft and 54,000 personnel deployed across Borneo and Sumatra since last month. However, the difficulty of accessing deep-seated fires within peat soils and limited water supplies remain significant hurdles.
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Toxic smoke from the fires has spread across parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, prompting urgent action from neighboring nations. Malaysia has initiated cloud seeding operations to improve rainfall and reduce air pollution, while Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have arrived to assist in firefighting efforts. Indigenous groups have also filed a class-action lawsuit against the Indonesian government, accusing it of failing to prevent recurring fire disasters.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)