Although Indonesian government officials blamed the fires on small-scale farmers and indigenous people, environmental groups gathered evidence that most of the burning was caused by large agribusiness conglomerates with close ties to the government and military. Clear-cutting hardwoods for sale abroad and burning what's left to make way for huge oil-palm plantations and fast-growing pulpwood trees, these companies ignore forest protection laws. Altogether, a couple of dozen businesses owned by wealthy entrepreneurs with friends in high places are thought to be responsible for burning some 20,000 km2 (8000 mi2) in 1997, or an area about the size of New Jersey