Indonesia's fires: smoke as a problem, smoke as a symptom

Abstract

The article looks at the forest fires which occurred in Indonesia in 1994 and 1997 and discusses their causes among them the slash-and-burn farming system, fires which occur accidentally and the fires which are started deliberately as a weapon in social conflicts. It is reported that the response to alternatives to slash-and-burn is not very effective and that most causes of these fires are also complicated and therefore a much more creative and long-term response is in order