INDONESIA IS BURNING.

An article by The Guardian discusses how forests in one of the world’s most environmentally rich and diverse country are being burned, causing more pollution, killing more animals that are already endangered, and overall ruining the country’s economy. True, it may not have been planned to have gone so out of proportion but the events of the last week of October is simply a greater form of what is done to the country on a regular basis to clear the land for pulpwood, timber and palm oil and every year torching the land leads to disasters. Many arguments and debates about business has been about the environment vs profit, the community vs profit, workers’ rights vs profit, and so on. Yet events such as the burning of Indonesia’s forests should help firms realize where to draw the line or act differently or more efficiently.

The fire could cause activists to rile against the palm oil industry and attempt to shut it down but the industry could still operate if they adopt different methods of operations. Moving the plants or cultivating the land to clear it may be a much better example than torching the forests, which already holds extremely high levels of risk in a tropical country. While taking more time, it would grant employment to the locals and help create a more sustainable economy to address the high poverty rates. Because labour rates are so low in the country, costs may not even increase significantly and the firm(s) can also avoid negative publicity, charges for destruction while also earning some positive publicity and goodwill.