More than 300 hectares burn in Tripa peat swamp
Indonesia: The fire season has begun. More than 300 hectares of previously cleared land are burning in the Tripa peat swamp. Our partners at APEL Green Aceh are containing the fire hotspots. What matters now is tackling the causes: slash-and-burn clearing, mostly for palm oil, and the authorities’ inaction.
Our partners at APEL Green Aceh have located more than 300 hotspots in just the past few days.
Every year, fires rage across Indonesia, especially near oil palm plantations. Forest fires and land clearing by fire – particularly in peatlands – produce exceptionally high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The smoke and extremely high concentration of particulate matter threaten the health and well-being of people in Indonesia and the neighboring countries of Singapore and Malaysia.
In the Tripa peat swamp, at least 334 hectares of peatland have burned in recent days. The last 200 orangutans are in grave danger. A generation ago – before the palm oil industry began clearing the forest – 3,000 great apes lived there.
APEL Green Aceh is mobilizing local communities and authorities to put out the fires. But that is not enough: “We must tackle the root causes: clearing for plantations, the inaction of the authorities and the lack of government oversight.”
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