Unlike past years, atmospheric conditions brought the smoke from the fires down on major cities, exposing large numbers of people in six countries to health hazards. An estimated 45,000 people in the region fell ill due to the smog, which closed airports and schools. The smoke is also blamed for an airliner crash and the collision of two cargo ships near Indonesia, both resulting in many fatalities. Fires started by people wishing to clear land for agriculture, timber projects, or tree plantations have increased in quantity and scale over the past two decades due to population pressures and increased demand for timber products. We're seeing tropical forests vanishing at an alarming scale due to shortsighted land-use policies.
Fire is just one of the means by which forests are being cleared.
From Indonesia to Guatemala, tropical forests are being destroyed at a rapid rate through activities ranging from harvesting mahogany for furniture to creating cattle pastures. Many governments have aggressively supported the clearing of forests. Such is the case with Indonesia, whose Transmigration Program seeks to relocate 140 million people and convert 2.5 million acres of rain forest to rice paddies. Brazil built the infamous Trans-Amazon Highway and encouraged millions of landless peasants to move to the Amazon and clear the jungle. Both projects received support from the World Bank.