THE 20 deaths and the dozens of others who suffered burns from the fire at the Pertamina Plumpang depot, North Jakarta, are the real consequence of mismanagement of land in the area. If there had been a buffer zone separating the Plumpang depot from people’s homes, it would have been easier to bring the fire under control and there would have been no casualties.

Allowing people to occupy an area that should be a buffer zone around a high-r