Haze Formation in Indonesia

All this talk about the effects and the geopolitical debates has nearly led me to forget one of the most fundamental questions in this discussion -how. What resulted in the 2013 haze as well as the 1997 episode and how did they reach their ground-breakingly hazardous levels?

In Indonesia, peat land fires are by far the largest contributor to smoke haze pollution. In 1997/98, peat land fires have contributed between 60-90% of the emissions resulting in smoke haze and they were also the The need for burning stems from the recent oil palm expansion, which refers to the profitability of growing and selling oil palm products. Increased demand has driven the expansion and deforestation of land at a scale no one has ever seen before. Where the culprits are not the large-scale investors, clearing the land by setting on fire the plantation becomes the most cost efficient and fastest method, despite its non-legal nature. A succinct explanation of the chemical processes behind forest fires is being made in this video from 0:25 to 0:50. Click here!

We say that forest fires are the largest contributing factor the haze because it releases large amounts of particulate matter comprising of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter. These are poisonous and do not blend into the air in a homogeneous manner thereby contributing to their stay within the atmosphere for long periods of time, leading to impairment of visibility and the afore-mentioned negative effects on the health and lifestyles of the living population. 

A crucial supporting factor in the formation of haze within Southeast Asia is the lack of proper and efficient governance. While there are legal obligations being put in place at a state level, these policies do not always take into consideration what happens on the ground and the fact that large scale concessions are often being handed out, the problem of the haze often persists despite structural legalities. 

Evidently, the haze in Southeast Asia is not just the result of one but many triggers. This has implications for the resolution of these hotspots (hah!) of problems, which will be fleshed out to a deeper extent in subsequent entries.