Is there anything good about the haze?

Surely there are two sides of the coin when it comes to the haze. We have been distinctly negative about the entire phenomenon, as with majority of the stakeholders and southeast Asian region. However, let's backtrack a bit today and examine the positive and possibly beneficial effects of the haze.

"Benefits" of the haze (www.dontlikethatbro.blogspot.com)

As established previously, the haze results from the burning of oil plantations by medium-sized corporations. This is in pursuit of financial gains which ideally then contributes to the Indonesian economy and therefore the global economy. Deforestation fulfils a demand for these oil plantation products some locally, others internationally. The global market for palm oil has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. Indonesia is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of palm oil, producing over 18 million tonnes of palm oil annually (World Growth, 2011).

According to World Growth 2011, oil plantation products comprise a huge percentage of the Indonesian GDP. For the last decade, palm oil has been Indonesia's most significant agricultural export.

Percentage share of Palm oil among Indonesia's agricultural production.

It is a figment of national identity, a constant way of life. Just as tourism is as pertinent to Singapore's economy with its mega contributions to the overall GDP, oil plantations are that way in an Indonesian context. While yes, environmental and health concerns are at stake but if perceived from an angle from one of national identity and perhaps even sustenance, then haze becomes a contested issue with regards to the benefits it can possibly bring.

Also somehow somewhere, the practice of this burning is somebody's livelihood and it might be keeping them off the streets. It might be putting rice bowls on their tables for an entire family. In 2006, it was found that 1.7 to 2 million people worked in the palm oil industry. Palm oil production provides a reliable form of income for a large number of Indonesia's rural poor, with one source suggesting that employment generated from palm oil production in Indonesia could potentially reach over 6 million lives and take them out of poverty. I'm not saying it is legitimate to burn oil plantations nor lead to plausible extinctions of rare flora and fauna, but it is a job and we must consider the possible economic salvations to this matter besides advocating its demise.

Nothing is ever definite. Even what seemed to be as blatantly hazardous as the southeast Asian haze suddenly bears a more humanistic realm now that livelihoods and percentage GDP is taken into consideration. No one is advocating for the goodness of the smog and the pollution entailed by the burning and neither is anyone (even the frontline loggers) really in a mood for a celebration of the haze when they can't breathe. But perhaps what this teaches us is the need to look beyond the smoke and realise the wider context this phenomenon lends to.

References:
The Economic Benefit of Palm Oil To Indonesia. (2011) A Report by World Growth (Link here!)

In the news: Slight haze in north-eastern and eastern Singapore

Aside from the thematic concerns with regard to the haze in Southeast Asia that I'll be discussing, I would also like to add to the discussion by bringing to light new articles which I find are of relevance to the haze and air quality in the region. 

Link to articles: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/johor-fires-possible-cause-haze-and-odour-nea and https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pollutants-index--pm2-5--spikes-to-155-in-east-area-of-singapore-011416765.html?linkId=12329116

"Light haze" in Sengkang as a result of Johor landfill fire

Quick summary: A light haze and burnt smell was reported in the north-eastern regions Sengkang, Hougang and Serangoon as well as the eastern parts of Bedok, Siglap, Pasir Ris and East Coast Road earlier this week. This was found to be a result of a fire at a landfill site in southern Johor. Malaysian authorities are still trying to resolve the problem, of which Singapore had offered help too, if required. 

Reflection: A description of "light haze" seems to be pushing it for apparent from the picture above, a description of "Silent Hill has descended upon Sengkang" would be more likely! But jokes aside, this slight episode exposes Singapore's vulnerability to activities in neighbouring countries. The haze this time round was brought upon by one incident of fire, what is more to say about the mass burning of forests that took place in 2013? I'd like to address the scale of events here and draw attention to the fact that our air quality is in actual fact a precarious reality that must never be taken for granted. While the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, now with Indonesia's cooperation (its recent ratification will be discussed in the upcoming weeks!), has been in place since 2002, we do expect for caution to be exercised when it comes to possible haze pollution incidences. However, slippages and accidental fires do occur for complete governmentality of firms and practices within a nation is impossible. What I feel is of utmost importance in scenarios like this would be the exercise of geopolitical responsibility and cooperation by neighbouring countries to clear up the air and not for blame to be accorded impulsively and irrationally. What Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan added to his Facebook statement that "We stand ready to assist if requested" is good example of international prudence and neighbourliness. Unlike popular wishes, haze pollution exceeds the territorial boundaries of a nation and it is the impetus of nations to accede to their responsibilities of the ASEAN treaty for all it is worth. 

Environmental Impacts of Haze Pollution.

While the economic and health impacts of the haze are apparent and definitely can be deadly, the marine, atmospheric and ecological effects of the haze must be addressed as well, for the Earth functions in a circuit where every environmental system is inter-linked. This necessitates the elucidation of effects on a holistic basis for a concise determination of the consequences of the haze (other than the fact that this is an environmental pollution module).

Here is an overview of the negative impacts of the haze:

Image taken from the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, NUS

1. Marine Impacts

While the health, economic and land-based as well as atmospheric issues of this burning have been well-documented, the impact on marine ecosystems has been almost wholly ignored. Here, we examine what Jeremy Hance, resident contributor of mongabay.com, a renowned environmental news commentary site has to say about the marine impacts.

He notes that the Southeast Asian region houses the Coral Triangle, the global epicentre of marine biodiversity and the most biodiverse marine region on the planet which is home to over 600 species of reef-building corals and 2000 reef fish. However this stronghold in biodiversity stands to be under threat, according to Zeehan Jaafar who is a marine researcher with the National University of Singapore and Tse-Lynn Loh with the John G. Shedd Aquarium in their new opinion paper in Global Change Biology. They warned that the haze from the land-based fires that has largely been originating from Indonesia as of late, could decrease sunlight to these precious marine ecosystems, perhaps undercutting photosynthesis in coral reefs as well as mangroves and sea grass. Meanwhile, runoff and topsoil loss due to fires may lead to eutrophication in marine environments. This would cause a massive loss in species abundance and diversity. Furthermore, land runoff could also lead to sediment loading in marine ecosystems, which can cause coral bleaching. These researchers also warn that the deposition of manifold particulates of various compounds such as carbon, ammonia and nitrogen into the ocean is with uncertain consequences upon various ecosystems.

Till today, we do not know the final consequence upon the marine environment and perhaps the unknown might be what we are most direly afraid of (mass poisoning of food supplies across the globe? Extinction of species?). However, that reality might not be as distant as we imagine, for it had been documented that after the 1997 Indonesian Smoke Haze, there was coral reef death at the Mentawai Islands (located off-shore of southwest Sumatra, Indonesia). It had been reported by Nerlie et al (Science, vol 301) that 1.1 x 10^4  metric tons of Iron was released from the Sumatran wildfies. This was linked to the disappearance of the red tide at the Mentawai region.

2. Atmospheric Impacts

Indonesian forest fires have had significant impacts on regional air quality due to the release of gaseous and particulate pollutants in copious amounts. The forest fires, particularly those raging in carbon-dense peatlands, represent a huge spike in greenhouse gases that sends Indonesia into the uppermost bracket of worldwide polluters. It was estimated that the July 2013 fires in Riau emitted between 36 million and 49 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The burning of the forests and peatlands in 2013 had undermined Indonesia's effort to achieve a 26% reduction in emissions by 2020.

In 1999, it was found that primary pollution emissions may either be short- or long-lived. Short-lived primary pollution emissions from the burning of oil plantations and peatlands only affects only regional air quality, whereas the latter upsets the global balance of radiation energy in the atmosphere. The short-lived compounds last for a matter of hours up to several months and these gases can be hazardous, especially when they are in high concentration and close to their source. Chief examples are sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.

The long-lived category includes gases that can outlast a century. Examples of which are carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons. Owing to their slow removal rate, they accumulate in the atmosphere, and they disperse globally because large-scale mixing typically takes months within a hemisphere to a year between hemispheres. Because these gases absorb infrared radiation, less of this energy is being transmitted into space and leads to what is more commonly known as the greenhouse effect. 

3. Loss of biodiversity

Haze pollution has harmful effects on biodiversity. Let's use plants as an example of the ecological destruction the haze brings. Air pollutants can affect materials by soiling or chemical deterioration. High smoke and particulate levels are associated with soiling of clothing and structures. Pollutants which are known as phytotoxicants (substances harmful to vegetation) are sulfur dioxide, perosyacetyl nitrate (an oxidation product in photochemical smog) and ethylene. In general, these gaseous pollutants enter the plant with air through the stomata in the course of respiration and once in the leaf of the plant, pollutants destroy chlorophyll and disrupt photosynthesis. Damage can rage form a reduction in growth rate to complete death of the plant. Here, we are discussing the impacts on plants that are not within the palm oil plantations in Indonesia. They may be located in the peripheral regions and neighbouring countries, often which too bear the consequences of the haze. 

The loss of biodiversity at the logging site is obvious. What kind of organism can survive the fires? Done at large for a long period of time, extinction by some species may happen.

The deforestation process in Riau; Source: greenpeaceblogs.org

References:
Zeehan Jaafar, Tse-Lynn Loh. (2014) Linking land, air and sea: potential impacts of biomass burning and the resultant haze on marine ecosystems of Southeast Asia. Global Change Biology

Health and Economic Effects of the Haze

According to the Health Promotion Board (2013), the main air pollutant would be particulate matter. Particulate matter refers to a complex mix of extremely small particles and liquid droplets made up of a number of components, including acids, organic chemicals, metals and soil or dust particles. Those found in haze are termed "fine particles" and tend to about 2.5 micrometers in diameter or even smaller (EPA, 2013). They're pretty small so can you imagine how easily we inhale these particles?!

While much of the focus of the effects of haze is on the most vulnerable (read: young children, women and the elderly), the "healthier" individuals are far from being spared. Short term exposure over a period of days to high levels of haze particles may cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat in them too! In people who already have chronic heart or lung diseases such as asthma or heart failure, consequences of the haze are surely more dire. One doctor who runs a private clinic in Singapore, and who didn't wish to be identified reiterates in the Southeast Asian Wall Street Journal (2013), "This is likely to be bad for anybody who is immuno-compromised or has heart or respiratory ailments." However, he assured that the haze itself should not result in too many long-term health issues, unless it stays for a long period. 

If you had noticed however, these effects are over a period of days. The 2013 Southeast Asian haze had lasted more than a month so just imagine the health effects! Exact figures for the health effects for the 2013 Southeast Asian haze were not readily available so let us just use the 1997 figures by Shanta Christina Emmanuel, a member of the Family Health Service in the Ministry of Health in Singapore on her general lecture on the "Impact to lung health of haze from forest fires: A Singapore experience"as a benchmark. Findings from the health impact surveillance during the 1997 haze period showed that there was a 30% increase in attendances for haze-related conditions and there was an increase in accident and emergency attendances for haze-related complaints. Putting two and two together, the effects from the 2013 haze must have been much worse, given the higher levels of toxicity within the atmosphere.

This video by the Tan Tock Seng hospital provides a concise explanation of the health effects of the haze. Have a look!

Aside from health effects, the haze has caused the affected countries, including Singapore, $9bn. According to the International Business Times in the article "Singapore Haze: Smog May Cost Economy More than 1997 Pollution Crisis", a number of businesses have been forced to close and there are sustained fears about the impact on Singapore's tourism industry as visitors stay away because of health concerns. Tourism accounts for 4% of Singapore's GDP and is worth around $18bn to the economy.