WITH the dry season come the forest fires. And when the dry season ends, so go the forest fires. It has become an annual routine. The fires are doused not by firefighters, not by humans, but by the rain.

Meanwhile, the government seems to be in no better position to solve the problem. Evidently, the fires this year were the worst since 1997. Yet, each forest fire always carries with it serious repercussions, because most of the damage takes plac