Forest fires cost Indonesia more than $5billion in losses this year
Indonesia suffered damages and economic loss from this year’s forest fires of at least $5.2 billion, the World Bank said in a report on December 11. The estimate is based on its assessment in eight affected provinces from June to October, though analysts at the Washington, D.C.-headquartered multinational bank said fires had continued to rage through to November.
“The forest and land fires, as well as the resulting haze, led to significant negative economic impacts, estimated at $157 million in direct damage to assets and $5 billion in losses from affected economic activities,” the World Bank said.
Over 900,000 people reported respiratory illnesses, 12 national airports halted operations and hundreds of schools in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore had to temporarily close due to the fires. More than 942,000 hectares of forests and lands were burned this year, the largest area since the devastating fires in 2015 when Indonesia saw 2.6 million hectares burned. Officials said the spike was due to El Nino weather patterns lengthening the dry season.
The blazes were “man-made and have become a chronic problem annually since 1997” because fire is considered the cheapest method to prepare land for cultivation, the bank said.
The World Bank also estimated that Indonesia’s economic growth will slow down by 0.09 and 0.05 percentage points in 2019 and 2020, respectively, due to the fires. The bank’s growth forecast for Indonesia is five per cent for 2019 and 5.1 per cent for 2020.
Indonesia suffered damages and economic loss from this year’s forest fires of at least $5.2 billion, the World Bank said in a report on December 11. The estimate is based on its assessment in eight affected provinces from June to October, though analysts at the Washington, D.C.-headquartered multinational bank said fires had continued to rage through to November. "The forest and land fires, as well as the resulting haze, led to significant negative economic impacts, estimated at $157 million in direct damage to assets and $5 billion in losses from affected economic activities," the World Bank said. Over 900,000 people reported...
Indonesia suffered damages and economic loss from this year’s forest fires of at least $5.2 billion, the World Bank said in a report on December 11. The estimate is based on its assessment in eight affected provinces from June to October, though analysts at the Washington, D.C.-headquartered multinational bank said fires had continued to rage through to November.
“The forest and land fires, as well as the resulting haze, led to significant negative economic impacts, estimated at $157 million in direct damage to assets and $5 billion in losses from affected economic activities,” the World Bank said.
Over 900,000 people reported respiratory illnesses, 12 national airports halted operations and hundreds of schools in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore had to temporarily close due to the fires. More than 942,000 hectares of forests and lands were burned this year, the largest area since the devastating fires in 2015 when Indonesia saw 2.6 million hectares burned. Officials said the spike was due to El Nino weather patterns lengthening the dry season.
The blazes were “man-made and have become a chronic problem annually since 1997” because fire is considered the cheapest method to prepare land for cultivation, the bank said.
The World Bank also estimated that Indonesia’s economic growth will slow down by 0.09 and 0.05 percentage points in 2019 and 2020, respectively, due to the fires. The bank’s growth forecast for Indonesia is five per cent for 2019 and 5.1 per cent for 2020.
