This study in the wake of 1990s fire catastrophes identifies and analyzes underlying causes of vegetation fires in eight locations across Borneo and Sumatra. Multidisciplinary and multiscale analysis integrates geospatial technologies with varied social research approaches and participatory mapping. It helps fill a void of site-specific evidence on diverse underlying causes of the Indonesian fires, despite emerging consensus on macrolevel causes and impacts, and policy debates on preventing future fire disasters. Our most important findings include confirmation of multiple direct and underlying fire causes at each of the eight locations, no single dominant fire cause at any site, and wide differences in fire causes among sites. Conclusions emphasize the importance of location specific studies within a regional analytical context. Our "hybrid" research methods demonstrate the explanatory power of integrating geospatial and social analysis techniques, and the benefits of analyzing fire causes and impacts at multiple scales in varied locations across diverse regions.

This study explores initiatives in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia to eliminate transboundary “haze” in Southeast Asia and the fires in Indonesia that are its major cause. It outlines reforms and technical programs to improve fire management and reduce smoke pollution and examines the scope for cooperation and conflict among these parties to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The study analyzes how changing administrative structures affect success of fire management and pollution control programs and explains how developing the effective fire management in Indonesia necessary to eliminate transboundary haze will depend on a combination of political will, legal reform, and administrative coordination. Although the ASEAN Haze Agreement lacks enforceable mandatory provisions, it remains a useful vehicle for international pressure and regional cooperation to eliminate transboundary pollution.

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International audienceThis analysis suggests important considerations for assessing social impacts of large-scale pulpwood production in Indonesia, emphasizing the extremely limited conditions under which pulp plantations may complement, rather than threaten, livelihoods of existing communities in their vicinity. Pulpwood plantations are expanding rapidly in Indonesia to feed major new pulp mills. Though officially developed on "unproductive forest lands", pulpwood monocultures are commonly established at the expense of natural forests and indigenous agroforestry systems in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Based on a South Sumatra case study, this article analyzes how pulpwood plantations may be combined with more traditional land uses to improve livelihoods for local populations, considering the potential for "complementary" labor opportunities. This analysis is built on two assumptions: (1) village smallholder activities represent a first choice for village-based workers and smallholders, with relatively high financial returns per hectare; and (2) seasonal variations in labor requirements for village-based livelihoods open opportunities for complementary labor and land uses such as industrial plantations. Applying our model to a Sumatra case study highlights an upper limit to "complementary labor" for industrial timber plantation land use at a ratio of 5:1 (no more than 5 ha of pulpwood to each 1 ha remaining in intensified local agriculture and agroforestry). Other conditions required to minimize risks for local livelihoods include: flexible timing of company operations; priority to local employment; cautious determination of plantation sites; more transparent government licensing of plantation concessions and pulp mills recognizing local and customary land and resource rights. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

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