Ecowatch: You cannot burn peatland. Ever

Open burning advancing through cleared land in Malaysia. Smoke is already visible at canopy level. Under Malaysian law, activities like this near or on peatland are prohibited without exception. — Malaysia Fire and Rescue Department/research team

EVERY dry season, the same question surfaces in rural Malaysia: Can I burn my land? The honest answer is sometimes yes – but never on peatland. And always under conditions most people are not aware of.

Malaysia has a specific law governing this. The Environmental Quality (Declared Activities) (Open Burning) Order 2003, gazetted under the Environ-mental Quality Act 1974, lists activities that are permitted under controlled conditions. It also makes one prohibition absolute: Burning on peatland is not allowed under any category.