An Indonesian soldier drags a hose while fighting a peatland fire in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra province on the island of Sumatra September 30, 2015.. — Antara Foto via Reuters pic
Small-scale farmers in Bengkalis regency, part of Riau province, have set fires for decades to prepare land to plant cassava, pineapple and rambutan, said Teguh Surya, head of the Sustainable Madani Foundation, a Jakarta-based environmental group. Oil palm grower Muakit, with flecks of grey hair and sun blemishes from years spent working more than a dozen hectares of land here alone, recalled the blacked-out sky during the worst of the 2015 disaster.
The farmer found himself locked up with rapists and other violent offenders in a small cell of about 30 inmates and was later sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.Low-hanging fruit Legal advocates in Riau say only a handful of farmers arrested over fires have access to adequate legal representation.
Greenpeace South-east Asia analysis shows only a fraction of about US$220 million handed down in fines to companies during the last decade has been paid.