Illegal logging is wide spread in Northern Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia. The loggers extract the high value trees from the forest, in many places from protected forest areas. The timber is often shipped out of the country, many times for furniture production.

The illegal loggers operate openly, sometimes even from within some of the big forestry plantation companies' land. With the illegal logging follows fires. Some are accidental domestic camp fires, yet again, many are intentional, to clear land.