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!)