This study focuses on the root causes of forest fires in Indonesia and provides an assessment of a range of potential new policy options to improve the situation. Uncontrolled forest fires are one of the key causes of habitat destruction in Indonesia. The haze they produce causes significant pollution problems for people in the country and in surrounding nations. Partly as a result of these fires, Indonesia is currently losing nearly 2 million ha of forest every year. Deforestation on this scale, at this speed, is unprecedented and deeply worrying. Indonesia's forests are home to a large share of the world's biodiversity and also provide a livelihood for millions of people. The study results indicate that the weak enforcement of forest conservation rules and regulations is a key problem and that this is caused by a wide range of resource and institutional failures. It highlights three key policy improvements that could address the forest fire problem in a cost effective way. The improvements involve: strengthening policy implementation in the field, putting in place an effective reward and punishment system, and the establishment of an institution to monitor and record stakeholder compliance and violation. The study recommends that all three of these policy options should be given a high priority. It also highlights a number of steps that must be taken to make sure that they are implemented effectively. These include ensuring that parliament supports and finances the appropriate policies, and empowering local communities to help weed out corruption and bribery.
