There is no secret that smoke covering Indonesia and neighboring country is intentionally forest fire. They do that because cheaper than opening farm by manual. Forest in some region in Sumatra and Kalimantan recognized that very close and hard to be penetrated, and surely hard to clear up for the farm of plantation. The solution which is cheap and quicker clearing is by burning it.
I have friend who own forest-farm in area Sumatra, wide enough more than thousands of hectare. In fact it isn’t forest because have been changed into the plantation land, just because not operate yet, those lands grow like forest and full of coppice. He said to clear up the farm, would need a lot of expense, using heavy equipment and manpower which is very difficult to get.
The easy and cheap way to clear up the forest conducted by many people and also owner of forest concession were by burning the farm. They usually did on dry season or summer time, cheap and quicker. But this matter cannot be done again, for many years activity burn the forest to open this farm have been prohibited by government.
They also have got education from local government, so that they have no longer burn the forest to open the farm. If this still be happened by the forest fire, it is possible that careless effect of moment open the farm, it is true unintentionally. For local citizen burning the forest is equal to destroying region by their self and generates the pollution which can be harm for their health.
This matter make the local citizen will no longer burn the forest to open the farm. Just forest region in this Sumatra and Kalimantan are not owned by local, but also big company or owner of the forest concession which owning much more wide farm. They tend still using the way of burning forest by various techniques.
This can be done from outside of concession area, they have old trick and difficult to prove that they broke the law. This’d intentionally burning forest still be conducted by those company, because cheaper and save more money. Anyway those companies are not living there, so feel free from smoke problem.
This forest fire modus often make government headache, because recurring every year, again and again. It is difficult to search who mastermind behind the burning forest. However government should be tougher in enforcing the law, they should ban and bring those criminal to justice.
Government has the fund to patrol or checking by using latest technology nowadays. There is satellite, drone which can be very fast and precisely detect the fire in order to be quickly act and can be overcome immediately. They can use an aircraft fire fighting to a place which can not be reached by land.
All this power must be optimize to stop the spread of smoke. The problem is not just loss of the forest, but health and life of the local. Government must act quickly and should collaborate with other country, because smoke disaster already spread all over Southeast Asia.