Researchers say Indonesia is clearing more forest land – as much as 2 million acres a year – than any other nation in the drive to produce palm oil and logs for paper mills. The government tightened a moratorium against converting peat swamps to plantations this week, said Associated Press, a step that a conservation group says will reduce fires during the dry season and could cut Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions substantially.
Last year, the dry-season fires, which accompany land-clearing, were the worst since 1997. Scientists estimated the haze from the fires resulted in 100,000 premature deaths.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo amended the peatland moratorium so it applies to peatlands of any depth and requires companies to restore land that was drained or damaged by fire, said AP. The World Resources Institute estimated the measures could lead Indonesia to reduce carbon emissions over 15 years by an amount equal to all U.S. greenhouse gases for one year.