Escalating fires in Papua's Merauke food estate intensify regional haze

Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, a Papua-focused watchdog, identified 807 high-confidence fire hotspots in the Merauke national strategic project (PSN) area. The fires are tied to land-clearing activities for a new road and airport along a 58-kilometre food-estate corridor stretching from Wanam village to Muting district. The Merauke estate, covering 2.3 million hectares, is intended for rice, sugarcane and other plantation development.

Smoke from the blazes has deepened haze across South Papua and surrounding regions, with the easternmost island receiving limited firefighting resources. Indigenous communities traditionally use small controlled burns, but the recent large-scale fires differ in scale and purpose. The situation highlights tensions between development projects and environmental health in the province.