Indonesia's Peat Fires Still Blaze, But Not As Much As They Used To
Clearing peat land by fire is illegal but remains widespread, since it's the cheapest way to clear land for farming and industry. Still, peat fires were down by more than 80 percent from 2015 to 2016.
With fires crackling in the peat soils, smoke billowing up and hot ash raining down just a stone's throw from his house, farmer Arif Subandi chokes up as he surveys the scene.
"Now our land is burned, our environment neglected," he says, sobbing. "Where will my children and grandchildren go?"
The 48-year-old father of five, who lives just outside the capital of Indonesia's West Kalimantan Province on Borneo, says he doesn't have enough to support his family. He's worried about local companies trying to take the land from him.
The fires can be hard to extinguish. "We're in the bush," Subandi explains. "These are ferns. And the fire burns the dry roots beneath us. During
