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Correct Answer: Option (D) — None of these
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Standard Reference VerifiedThe primary cause of the catastrophic 1997 Indonesian forest fires was anthropogenic: extensive, deliberate slash-and-burn clearing of rainforests and peatlands for oil palm and timber plantations. While the 1997–98 El Niño created severe drought conditions that exacerbated and prolonged the fires, the direct initiating cause was human land-clearing activity.
Distinguish between the proximate anthropogenic trigger (slash-and-burn agricultural clearing) and the exacerbating meteorological condition (El Niño drought).
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