Palm oil demand fueling Indonesian forest fires

The government has estimated that the cost to the economy could be as high as 31 billion US dollars. "Peat degradation is the main source of Indonesia's carbon emissions through fire," said Herry Purnomo, a scientist at the Center for Forestry Research (CIFOR).  An absence of transparent spatial maps, corruption and ineffective local governments are to blame for a lack of legal action against those who deliberately start fires, Purnomo said. "Many cases of burning committed by large- and medium-scale companies were not acted upon because these firms have major political and economic influences either locally or nationally," said Purnomo.