From forests to ashes: fires in Indonesia

Posted by jamie - 24 February 2009 at 10:57am - Comments

Some rather grim images were sent out from our picture desk yesterday. Taken on Sunday by Ardiles Rante, they show the devastation caused by fire in the peatland forests outside Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province in Sumatra. So that's another few thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide sent up into the atmosphere, and seeing photos like these make me realise our ongoing campaign to protect these forests from the ever-expanding palm oil industry is even more essential.

Fire burns through peatland forest in Sumatra, Indonesia

Charred tree stumps left behind by a forest fire in Sumatra, Indonesia

All images © Greenpeace/Rante

Article tagged as: forest fires, forests, images, indonesia, peatlands, photos, riau, sumatra

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Hello, I would like to draw Your attention to a new kind of charity

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By elvira - 24 February 2009 at 5:42pm

Writing from Australia, we have just experienced the worst bushfires in the country's history in terms of human lives lost, attributed by many to climate change, while massive floods in the north of the country have had many communities isolated for weeks.
What I find curious about these Indonesian pictures is that they clearly show trees which have been harvested before the fires came through, which would suggest that, like some of the Victorian fires, this damage is malicious, presumably after illegal harvesting.

By wildeel - 24 February 2009 at 10:45pm

Hello, I would like to draw Your attention to a new kind of charity Surin restaurant, founded by Mrs Damrong Garbutt, one of the world’s top Thai restaurants, has created the Surin Village School Charity.Our mission is to build village schools in the poorest regions of the 80 poorest UNHCR nations – the nations below Thailand.The schools will then be built and then linked to Kent schools via the internet for ongoing community support, curriculum activity and cultural exchange and learning – for both parties!The first 3 schools to be built will be in Thailand (Damrong’s home village near Cambodia), Mali in sub-Saharan Africa with the support of the Timbuktu Cultural Foundation in California, and Bolivia. The Surin school approach Surin Village School Charity (Charity Commission registration no: 1116492) aims to build a basic but high-quality village school in a region that would normally struggle to have an adequate school and simply no chance of links to the internet and the wider world.The school will encompass a good quality building, desks, books and computers. As well (given the poor surroundings) we will also seek to provide basic humanitarian assistance with a drinking water well and solar power for electricity and a basic community centre or healthcare facility. We envisage Kent schools helping to fund ongoing support and improvements on a regular basis, as well as providing general support and “electronic penpals” for teachers and students to learn about their different nations and environments. Full details are on our websitse www.surinrestaurant.co.uk and www.surinschoolcharity.org For more information contact: (01227) 765027 or email info@surinschoolcharity.org

By elvira - 24 February 2009 at 5:42pm

Writing from Australia, we have just experienced the worst bushfires in the country's history in terms of human lives lost, attributed by many to climate change, while massive floods in the north of the country have had many communities isolated for weeks. What I find curious about these Indonesian pictures is that they clearly show trees which have been harvested before the fires came through, which would suggest that, like some of the Victorian fires, this damage is malicious, presumably after illegal harvesting.

By wildeel - 24 February 2009 at 10:45pm