Debate rages over impact of tropical peat conversion

Don’t point fingers: Peat swamps emit methane when underwater and it only takes a tiny spark to lead to peat fires, so experts believe that oil palm plantations are not the cause of the annual haze.

PETALING JAYA: The environmental impact of agricultural conversion of tropical peat is a matter of intense debate.

Dr Reuben Clements, co-founder of Rimba, a non-profit research group registered in Malaysia, said the drainage and conversion of peatland to agriculture was largely responsible for forest fires that caused the annual haze.