Smoke billows over recently burnt peatland forests in Kuala Cinaku, Riau Province of Indonesia. Villagers said the area, owned by a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest oil palm companies, had been deliberately set on fire a number of times since June. The combination of peatland conversion and forest fires is causing global environmental damage by releasing massive quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, further adding to the problem of climate change. Once a health and environmental hazard to millions in Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s forest fires are now turning into a global menace that contributes significantly to climate change. Indonesia is currently third largest emitter of greenhouse gas, trailing only China and the US, mainly due to deforestation, land conversion and forest fires.

© Greenpeace / Oka Budhi