There is much skepticism regarding the will and ability of authorities to find and punish the criminals responsible for starting land and forest fires.

Punishments such as that handed down by the Supreme Court are precisely what is need and this ruling needs to be publicized as positive and highly visible way for the government to show Indonesians (and foreigners) that the rule of law can be trusted, and is not for sale.

Building upon this precedent, urgent diplomatic action needs to be taken to bring in fire fighting experts and technology from abroad.  Kuwait fought intense oil field fires in the early 1990s and must be ready for a similar scenario, the US and Canada contain forest fires regularly and Malaysia and Singapore are clearly invested in stopping this disaster.  What is being done on this front?

Nicolas

I am of the opinion that forest fires are caused by the natural formation of CH4 methane gas, which is colorless and odorless, its existence not easily observed.

Our dairy farmers have been producing CH4 from their trash cubicles for their evening lighting in the absence of the electricity in their villages. We need a permanent solution. I really doubt that these fines will solve the existing causes of forest fires.

Moeljono Adikoesoemo
Jakarta

A large amount of the fires are started by the local community with the purpose of encroaching on land owned by large corporations. The burnt area is quickly planted with oil palm and the community starts a land dispute with the legal land owners. This tactic is widespread, and the corporation end up getting fined because the land where the fire started was their title deed. The results of this are job losses and increased commodity prices. Not a healthy situation at all.

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