‘Playing’ with fire

Following a seemingly fire-free period of more than three years, major fires yet again raged across the Indonesian archipelago in 2023, wiping out at least 1.16 million hectares of forest areas, mostly in Kalimantan and Sumatra. While considered ‘milder’ than previous fire disasters in 2019 and 2015, the 2023 conflagration still caused massive health, economic, and ecological impacts to people in Indonesia and also neighbouring countries. In Indonesian society these recent devastating fires also reignited a debate that accords disproportionate blame on Indigenous Peoples and their traditional agricultural practices.