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Sumatra

 

East Kalimantan burns and starves

Down to Earth No. 37 May 1998

The forest fires are back. In East Kalimantan, the worst hit area so far, tens of thousands of hectares are burning out of control. The fires -- mostly deliberately set by big business -- and the continuing effects of the drought are bringing famine and dispossession to local communities whose once rich resources have been plundered and destroyed.

EU-funded Leuser project slammed

Down to Earth No. 37 May 1998

European Union funding of the Gunung Leuser National Park and the Leuser Ecosystem is the target of criticism in an investigation by the UK-based NGO, the Rainforest Foundation, published in March 1998. The programme, to protect one of the largest tracts of rainforest in S. E. Asia, was one of three case studies in a report on the environmental and social impacts of European Commission funding in tropical areas.

Oil palm expands, farmers lose out

Down to Earth No. 36 February 1998

The rapid expansion of oil palm plantations is enriching the entrepreneurs but impoverishing farmers whose lands are taken over for development.

The push for indigenous rights

Down to Earth No. 36, February 1998

Indigenous representatives from different parts of the archipelago have demanded that the Indonesian government respect their rights. A joint visit to Jakarta in October is a sign of the growing momentum of the indigenous movement in Indonesia.

The 1997 fires: Responsibility rests with Suharto

Down to Earth No. 35, November 1997, Forest Fires Special Supplement

1997 will be remembered as a year when greed and folly led to international pollution on an unprecedented scale. Indonesia's fires, burning in some places since June, have devastated vast swathes of forests and farmland and have endangered the health of tens of millions of people across at least six countries.

The trail of destruction: A chronology of the fires

Down to Earth No. 35, November 1997, Forest Fires Special Supplement

This selective chronology, compiled mainly from press reports, follows the development of the 1997 fires, documents the government response and attempts to gives some indication of its impact on the population.