Causes

Farmers' method of clearing land

The Indonesian farmers carry out the “slash-and-burn” method to clear the forest and make more land for crop planting. This method is definitely the cheapest and fastest way to obtain a cleared space. However, it causes serious consequences to the environment, causing severe haze to contaminate the air in neighboring countries.

Surprisingly, Wikipedia.com recorded that one of local villagers interviewed “appeared to be unconcerned with the smog, saying it was ‘normal’.” The villager said, “If we do not burn the forest, where are we going to get our food from?”

This negligent attitude will not be tolerated by the neighboring countries. The result of their self-centeredness is the inconvenience and torment which neighboring countries had to endure for many weeks after the burnings started.

The farmers would have to be educated about the effects of their inconsiderate actions. That is also why we are doing this project, to inform the Indonesian farmers hear clearly on behalf of the world, “Stop with your burning! You are damaging the environment!”

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Large Corperations - Timber and Palm plantations

Large corporations often want to employ the cheapest way to clear space to start their timber and palm plantations in order to save more money. Hence they employ workers to carry out the “slash-and-burn” method to clear the forest so as to free land for planting crops. This is a major contribution to the haze. The corporations should not be doing this as they are damaging the environment in the long run (not ethical at all). The government should send officials to inspect the forest sites regularly and check if the workers are going to use this method to clear the land. When caught red-handed, the operators of the corporations should be punished by being heavily fined. This would then stop them from doing this unethical act in future

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Government's Role

The Indonesian government plays an essential role in tackling the haze situation that originates in its country. In order to prevent the situation from worsening over the years and to eventually bring it to a stop, the Indonesian government needs to be very strict enough toward farmers and organizations who contribute to the haze. If the government does its part actively, it would be very possible that the haze would not occur anymore this year (2007)!

The government must understand that the farmers are from poor families. They use the slash-and-burn method to clear land because it is the most affordable method for them. They are not able to afford machinery to clear the land. To prevent the farmers from using this destructive method to clear land in future, the Indonesian government should provide them with alternative ways to clear the land to plant more crops. A possible way is to provide the farmers with subsidies for them to purchase the required land-clearing machinery (e.g. forestry mowers, excavators). With the help of machinery which is affordable to them, the farmers would not have to start forest fires.

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Presence of strict laws

More stringent laws should be established against farmers who are responsible for contributing to the haze. Farmers who are caught using the slash-and-burn technique should be dealt with strictly. Jail-terms should be implemented if they have been repeat offenders. Guilty individuals or organizations should also be heavily fined. The government should be more active in sending officials to conduct frequent checks at the farming sites especially around September to December. This will reduce the chance of farmers using the slash-and-burn method to clear land to plant more crops

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