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Indonesian palm oil companies have been playing a dangerous game: burning forests to clear land that has already been dried out by their activities – just to cut production costs. This practice is illegal because it is a major cause of wildfires that have destroyed ecosystems and generated massive atmospheric pollution in Indonesia and nearby countries over the past few years. A group of Indonesian environmental NGOs have been investigating how palm oil companies are continuing to harm the environment with impunity.
A number of wildfires tore through Indonesia in October 2023 – something that has become a common occurrence in recent years. On the island of Sumatra, the blazes led to the closure of several schools. For NGOs operating in Indonesia, including Greenpeace and the local organisation Pantau Gambut, the culprit is clear: palm oil companies are to blame for these fires.
The NGOs accuse these companies of using these fires to clear the land – a cheaper and faster option than bulldozers. Then, the companies plant palm trees in the cleared land. While using fire to clear land is a traditional practice, it has been illegal in Indonesia since 2009.
Environmental NGOs have seen a real increase in fires in Indonesia’s tropical peatlands, which are under threat by the palm oil industry.
‘It’s the cheapest method’
More than 14,000 fires were recorded in August, four times the number in July, according to Pantau Gambut, an Indonesian NGO that monitors fires in the peatlands.
This increase in fires can be directly linked to the palm oil companies for two reasons, says Abil Salsabila, a member of Pantau Gambut:
Some of these palm oil companies start fires so they can clear the land and start a plantation there, because it is the cheapest method.
It’s important to add that these companies drain the peatlands to water their plantations. That dries out the peatlands and makes them more…
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