Trial by Fire - Forest Fires and Forestry Policy in Indonesia's Era of Crisis and Reform

The forest and land fires that engulfed vast areas of Indonesia in 1997 and 1998 ere an unprecedented human and ecological disaster. A prolonged dry season caused by the El Niño climatic phenomenon created the conditions for the conflagration. But the fires were mostly ignited deliberately by plantation companies and others eager to clear forest land as rapidly and cheaply as possible, no matter what the consequences. This was not a “natural” disaster.