Indonesian province declares state of emergency over forest fires

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's third-largest province declared a state of emergency from Wednesday after identifying more than 700 fires, as the Southeast Asian nation braces for its annual fire season.

The declaration comes as Indonesia scales back protection for some of the world's most important tropical forests. The team that identifies fires and helps put them out has seen its budget halved due to the economic impact of the coronavirus, an environment ministry official told Reuters last month.