In the wake of the catastrophic fires in the 1990s, this study identifies and analyses underlying causes of vegetation fires in eight locations across Kalimantan and Sumatra, Indonesia. Multidisciplinary and multiscale analysis integrates geospatial technologies with varied social research approaches and participatory mapping. The study helps fill a void of site-specific evidence on diverse underlying causes of the Indonesian fires, despite emerging consensus on macrolevel causes and impacts, and policy debates on preventing future fire disasters. The most important findings include the confirmation of (i) multiple direct and underlying fire causes at each of the eight locations, (ii) no single dominant fire cause at any site, and (iii) wide differences in fire causes among sites. Underlying causes of forest and vegetation fires in the eight sites include: land tenure and land use allocation conflicts and competition; forest degrading practices; economic incentives/disincentives; population growth and migration; and inadequate fire fighting and management capacity. Conclusions emphasize the importance of location-specific studies within a regional analytical context. The hybrid" research methods demonstrate the explanatory power of integrating geospatial and social analysis techniques, and the benefits of analysing fire causes and impacts at multiple scales in varied locations across diverse regions."
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