Indonesia: Recent study on 2019 fires stirs debate on government's forest data transparency

Scorched earth: Smoldering peatland is pictured in Kampar, Riau province, on Sept. 17, 2019. - AFP

JAKARTA, Jan 22 (Jakarta Post/ANN): The government has disputed the recently published scientific research that claimed the area lost to forest and peatland fires in 2019 was larger than official estimates, a move which activists said highlighted the Indonesia's lack of openness toward data gathered from independent studies.

The research, which was published in the Earth System Science Data (ESSD) journal in November, found that 3.1 million hectares were burned in 2019, almost double the 1.6 million ha reported by the Environment and Forestry Ministry.