In 1997, extensive habitat loss and species declines in Indonesia were linked to the drainage of peatlands for plantation agriculture, leading to massive fires. This environmental crisis highlighted the consequences of unsustainable land-use practices and the urgent need for conservation efforts. The biodiversity loss in Sumatra and Borneo underscored the global importance of protecting tropical ecosystems and the species that inhabit them.

The biodiversity loss from Indonesian peatland drainage in 1997 inspired Southeast Asian poetry addressing environmental crises and the vanishing of tropical forests. Poets like Sapardi Djoko Damono and Taufiq Ismail highlighted the urgent need for ecological awareness and preservation.