An ugly dusty cloud hangs over Southeast Asia. The smoke is so thick that it stings the eyes and lungs. The smell of burning wood clings to everything. The rain forests are in flames. Hundreds of forest fires are raging out of control on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
For two months, the thick cloud of smoke coming from the fires has blanketed parts of six countries in the region. Experts say it is the worst environmental crisis they can remember.
"The sky in Southeast Asia has turned yellow, and people are dying," says Dr. Claude Martin of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, a conservation group. "What we are witnessing is not just an environmental disaster but a tremendous health problem being imposed on millions."
Hundreds of children and old people have been hospitalized. Many schools and businesses have been forced to close. More than 1,500 square miles of valuable forests have been destroyed.
The Fires Were Set On Purpose
For years, big plantation companies in Indonesia have set fires. They use the fires to clear wooded areas quickly and cheaply. The companies destroy valuable tropical hardwood trees and in
their place plant oil palms, cocoa, rubber or eucalyptus trees. These trees are then used to make paper and other products.
Twenty years of logging has dried out what was once lush tropical rain forests. The companies "just don't seem to care about what they are doing," says Ron Lilley, a Worldwide Fund official. "They're only interested in taking what resources are there before someone else gets them."
In the past, the Indonesian government has been slow to blame the big companies. The government said small farmers set the fires to clear the land. The farmers are responsible for some of the fires, but satellite photos suggest that most of the fires are in plantation areas.
In 1994 Indonesia banned forest burning. But the law has been ignored. Last week the government announced that it would cancel the licenses of 176 companies suspected of deliberately setting the fires.
No Sunrise Or Sunset
This year's man-made fires have been made worse by a long drought. The weather pattern known as El Niño (see Wacky Weather 9/26/97) has brought unusually dry weather to the region. September rains that would normally be heavy enough to drown out fires did not arrive. The drought has left parts of the rain forests--already damaged by logging--dry and more likely to catch fire. The rains are not expected before November.
Dry weather conditions have helped spread the smoky, unhealthy haze. Officials say four Indonesians have died from smoke inhalation and that thousands have been treated for breathing ailments.
"There is no sunrise or sunset," said a resident of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. "The smog goes slowly white around 7 a.m., then fades to black around 7 p.m."
The air-pollution index hit a record 839 in Sarawak, Malaysia, on September 23. The index measures the amount of unhealthy material in the air. In the U.S. warnings are issued when the index climbs above 100. Experts warn that exposure to a level between 200 and 300 is as harmful as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
Malaysian health authorities have advised people to stay indoors and wear air-filtering masks when they are outside. Ten-year-old Faizuan Kamaruddin (Fie-san Kam-a-rood-in) lives just outside Kuala Lumpur. He is allowed outside only to go to and from school. "I hate the haze," he told TFK. "My parents told me that I can get a sore throat if I disobey their warnings and go out."
Indonesia's fires have blanketed parts of neighboring countries in the choking haze. Two weeks ago, Indonesia's President Suharto apologized to his neighbors. He declared a national disaster and sent thousands of fire fighters to the areas with the worst fires.
What Is Being Lost?
Last week some rain finally fell. Downpours and strong winds lessened the haze in some places, and the air-pollution index dropped. But it may be too little, too late. "Please don't be misguided by short improvements of weather conditions," warned
Indonesia's Environment Minister.
The fires are still raging. The impact on plant and animal life is devastating. Elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers and orangutans that live in the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra are threatened as their habitats go up in smoke.
"We are only just beginning to realize the effects of what we do. We are losing so much in these fires," says the Worldwide Fund's Lilley. "The lesson is: Think carefully before you do anything to the forest. Think about the consequences."