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Minister accuses 45 companies of burning land in Indonesia
Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has said there are 45 companies involved in the slash-and-burn clearing of land and forests
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Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has said there are 45 companies involved in the slash-and-burn clearing of land and forests.
'The 45 companies are being handled legally. The number is quite high compared to last year, which saw only seven companies. Those seven are all being charged legally,' he told journalists in Bengkulu on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Balthasar said that if proven guilty, the companies would face criminal penalties and fines.
The minister went on to say that the government had yet to collect data on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the recent land and forest fires in Sumatra, particularly Riau province, where they have been the worst.
'We are still calculating the amount of carbon emissions resulting from the fires,' he said.
Balthasar added that the fires and resulting smoke had caused financial losses amounting to around Rp 10 trillion (US$880 million). (put/ebf)
