Indonesia’s controversial forest fires

Indonesia’s controversial forest fires
Indonesia’s controversial forest fires

Indonesia’s controversial forest fires

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For the last couple of months enormous forest fires have been raging across Indonesia, with more than 100,000 fires reported. The fires are the result of land being cleared for palm oil production, in many instances where no concessions for palm tree farming had been granted. The fires have caused a dramatic increase in acute respiratory infections, even in countries neighboring Indonesia. We’ll talk about why the government’s been unable to get the fires under control with journalist Ted Fishman. He’s the author of China Inc. and Shock of Grey and he’s just returned from Indonesia. (Photo: Flickr/CIFOR)