Under fire over data transparency

All that’s left: The study found that the area lost to forest and peatland fires in Indonesia in 2019 was larger than official estimates. — AFP

THE government has disputed 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 government’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 hectares reported by the Environment and Forestry Ministry.