Forest fires are continuing to fuel hazardous air pollution across swathes of Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia, with haze reaching as far as Singapore and Malaysia. Greenpeace Southeast Asia today released a briefing explaining the background causes and solutions to this crisis.
Greenpeace Indonesia forests campaigner, Annisa Rahmawati, said:
“Decades of forest destruction and peatland drainage have turned Indonesia’s landscape into a carbon bomb. Now a thousand fuses are burning. Whether or not they actually light the match, companies have created the conditions in which forest and peatland fires take hold.
“It seems like Jokowi’s promises are about as hazy as the air around us. Indonesia’s pledge for the Paris climate summit makes no commitment to address the causes of forest and peatland fires, despite being a globally significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
“Last year, the President promised to tackle the crisis. Jokowi pledged to review company concessions and take immediate action to protect forests and peatlands. We’re still waiting for his government to deliver. If the President wants to stop these fires, his government must publish the concession maps we need to hold companies to account and stop blocking private sector initiatives to protect and restore forest and peatland areas.”
Notes to Editors:
The briefing paper attached can also be viewed here: https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-southeastasia-stateless/2019/04/Greenpeace_Forest_Fire__Briefing_Sept_2015.pdf
Media Contacts:
Annisa Rahmawati, Forest Campaigner Greenpeace Southeast Asia
mobile: +62 8111097527
Sol Gosetti, International Communications Coordinator, Indonesia Forest Campaign
E: [email protected], M: +447380845754