JAKARTA: Indonesia has rejected applications from scores of companies for new palm oil operations, an official said Tuesday, as it cracks down on an industry whose expansion has been blamed for fuelling haze-belching forest fires.
Almost one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land were spared from conversion to palm oil plantations due to the decision, said San Afri Awang, a senior official from the environment and forestry ministry.
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