June 2021

The Indonesian President has personally emphasised the issue as a legacy for the Indonesian people, and a raft of reforms and new policies have followed to push towards meeting the challenge of forest fires and haze. [...] The promise is that the new Law and regulations will assist the country’s economic growth and recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. [...] Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) has predicted a slightly later start to the 2021 dry season for much of the region, including parts of Sumatra and Borneo, due to La Niña weather conditions persisting through May and resulting in wetter weather for the time being.14 9 The dry season itself is expected to be normal or typical, with BMKG and other meteorological or. [...] But will this price increase affect the behaviour of Indonesian growers, leading to more land clearing and agricultural activity, and thus increasing the risk of haze? Private sector firms interviewed for this Report expressed doubt that the rise in commodity prices will influence the behaviour of both corporate and community growers in the near term. [...] At the moment, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the effect of the current commodity price increase on the risk of fires and haze, especially as the present situation is unusual due to COVID-19.