Clearing the air

Clearing the air

Everyone wants to see a haze-free Asean, but reducing air pollution on a regional level is a complex challenge. By Tanyatorn Tongwaranan in Singapore

Bangkok is shrouded in smog at the peak of this year’s haze emergency in February.
Bangkok is shrouded in smog at the peak of this year’s haze emergency in February.

Earlier this year, cities in Thailand were smothered by prolonged, suffocating toxic smog. Schools were closed, tourism sank, and N95 masks flew off store shelves as people started to feel the effects -- sore throats, irritated eyes and trouble breathing -- caused by ultra-fine dust particles known as PM2.5.

Cities in Asean are no strangers to pollution, and seasonal outbreaks of haze occur almost every year. But this year featured some of the worst air quality ever experienced in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. In Chiang Mai, where air pollution is caused largely by forest fires as farmers clear land for new planting, the air quality index (AQI) was among the worst in the world, exceeding 370 at one point ("moderate" is 50 to 100), according to the AirVisual app.

Crop burning, traffic exhaust and pollution from construction and factories are also major causes of haze. A meteorological condition known as a temperature inversion, in which warmer air overlays cooler air, also aggravates the situation by trapping pollution closer to the Earth's surface.

Across Southeast Asia, seasonal fires and the resulting haze caused by slash-and-burn agriculture represent a significant economic, social and environmental burden. The haze crisis in 1997, which lasted about three months, cost the region an estimated US$9 billion from business disruption and health expenses.

In Indonesia, the 2015 fire crisis, which spread haze across southern parts of Asean, cost the country about $16 billion in economic losses, the World Bank estimated. There were additional economic, social and health impacts in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.

"In Singapore, the total cost from the haze is estimated at S$1.3 billion, or around 0.5% of the country's GDP. The economic burden of each Singaporean citizen is about $350. This shows a clearer picture that haze is painful not only for Indonesia but other countries across Asean," said Chia Wai Mun, associate professor with the School of Social Sciences and co-director of the Economic Growth Centre at Nanyang Technological University.

While the region has made some progress in recent years, significant challenges persist in combating transboundary haze, according to the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA).

Fire management regimes need to be adapted for local conditions, local authorities' capacity and finances are limited, national and sub-national relations are complex, and many high-risk areas remain.

Stopping the haze once and for all would require commitment, implementation and accountability for sustainable management of forests and peatlands by all stakeholders from governments to NGOs, businesses, consumers and small-scale farmers.

"Asean has suffered recurrent episodes of severe haze where the skies were dark at noon over the past 20 years," said SIIA chairman Simon Tay. "There have been blue skies for the past few years but it continues to be important to understand why this has happened and to continue efforts to achieve better outcomes, even as climatic and other factors change."

According to a recent SIIA report, the region is facing a moderate risk of transboundary haze this year, similar to 1997 and 2015; however, the effect is likely to be weaker than in the past.

Better policies and strategies are a key to fighting fires and haze, Mr Tay added, citing the example of Singapore, which passed the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) in 2014 and pursued court action under the act in 2015 and 2016.

In addition, the city-state introduced the enhanced Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS+) in 2017, which endorses industrial and consumer products that have fewer undesirable effects on the environment. So far, the eco-labelling scheme has certified 3,000 unique products from 28 countries.

"This issue of the haze has been quite difficult to get cooperation and cooperative spirit on in the past. However, looking ahead, we need to focus not only on collaboration but also implementation and accountability," Mr Tay added.

Through collaborative efforts among civil society, environmental and social NGOs, companies and governments, the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) was introduced last year to accelerate progress and improve accountability for responsible supply chain commitments in agriculture and forestry.

AFi is a set of common definitions, norms and guidance intended to bring greater clarity, consistency, effectiveness and accountability to the implementation of these commitments. However, it is not a compliance standard or certification system, but a means for companies to demonstrate and be held accountable for meeting commitments related to deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and human rights.

Apichai Sunchindah, an independent development specialist and former executive director of the Asean Foundation, said fire and haze has been an issue for Asean for at least two decades.

Leaders demonstrated a regional commitment to address the issue by setting an ambitious goal in 2016 to become haze-free by 2020. "While it's good to have goals and aspirations, we may need to adjust our expectations afterward," he said.

The ideal haze-free roadmap, however, does not mean completely "haze-free". Indicators consist of an increase in the number of days with good or moderate air quality, a reduction of hotspots and a decrease in transboundary haze pollution coverage areas.

"To solve or keep the fires and resulting smoke and haze under control, it would be best to use a 'nip it in the bud' approach of trying to prevent fires or burning, if at all possible," said Mr Apichai.

This means providing suitable and practical land clearing alternatives that don't involve burning, whether through government subsidies or other incentives, he said.

Sticks and carrots could also be applied, he said, but this would involve society as a whole agreeing on the approach, with governments providing policy direction with strict enforcement.

Attractive incentives such as subsidies for farmers who use non-burning methods, coupled with close collaboration between businesses and local communities, would improve the likelihood of success in his view.

Mr Apichai also stressed that we as consumers should also take it on ourselves to better ensure that cultivation of crops is carried out in a more environmentally sustainable manner, even it means we need to pay premium for the resulting products.

PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

Thankfully, since the first haze crisis 22 years ago, governments, NGOs and businesses across Asean have made some progress and have been taking stricter measures to combat fires and manage transboundary haze. Indonesia, seen as the epicentre of the problem, is hoping to lead by example.

"Asean has enjoyed clear skies in recent years thanks to the strong leadership and determined efforts of President Jokowi and [Environment]Minister Siti Nurbaya," said Masagos Zulkifli, minister for the Environment and Water Resources of Singapore. "However, we must remain vigilant. The recent incidents of fires in northern Asean indicate warmer and drier weather ahead."

Since 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has continued to extend the moratorium on new commercial agriculture concessions on primary forest and peatland. while issuing a further moratorium on agricultural development on peatland.

The Indonesian peatland restoration agency Badan Restorasi Gambut (BRG) since 2016 has targeted the restoration of 2.5 million hectares of degraded peatlands in seven provinces by 2020. Its actions include rewetting, revegetation and revitalising the livelihoods of local communities.

The number of Indonesian hotspots within priority restoration areas compared to 2015 has fallen by nearly 93%. BRG's Nazir Foead said authorities have rewetted about 679,000 hectares of peatlands, or 60% of its 1.1-million-hectare goal on public land, with another 1.4 million hectares to be restored by companies within concessions.

Moreover, companies, NGOs and governments have increased their capacity for fire prevention, detection and suppression through community engagement, investment in training, equipment and manpower, and creating rapid-response teams.

One company, for instance, reports training 2,600 community firefighters since 2015, nearly equal to its own 2,700-strong full-time firefighting force, according to SIIA research.

In 2016, the Fire Free Alliance (FFA) was launched as a voluntary group made up of forestry and agriculture companies, civil society organisations, and other partners keen to resolve the issue of persistent fires and haze. Founding members included Musim Mas, April Group, Asian Agri, IDH, PM.Haze, Rumah Pohon and the giant palm plantation group Wilmar.

In other parts of Asean such as Thailand, however, critics say the country and local officials need to do more work with other governments to tackle the widespread practice of open burning and improve fire prevention without compromising the livelihood of smallholders.

The government should come up with more sustainable and comprehensive measures in tackling forest fires, instead of just arresting farmers who start fires, or firing water to try and control dust levels, said Rangsrit Kanjanavanit, a Chiang Mai cardiologist and lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine at Chiang Mai University and a former vice president of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation.

"It should find a way to dissuade farmers from burning [waste] by giving them incentives," he told the Bangkok Post in March.

Jarot Winarno, the bupati (regent) of Sintang in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, said that while some progress has been made through better regional coordination involving stakeholders including large corporations and governments, haze will persist, given ongoing slash-and-burn activities by smallholders.

"Dealing with smallholders is much more challenging because they are more independent and they usually stay in more remote areas," he said.

"The programme now needs to target smallholders more, through education, empowerment and guidelines for sustainability practice. If we do not include smallholders in the sustainability value chain, we will never be able to fight the haze," he said.

"What we are hearing today is quite remarkable and encouraging. We have a number of champions not only at the national level but also at the provincial and district level," said Fitrian Ardiansyah, executive chairman of IDH Indonesia, a local arm of the international group that aims to develop sustainable trade.

"What we need to do more now is to help them to make sure this improvement is further implemented on the ground. We need collective actions coming from different stakeholders, especially from the private sector," he said.

"We still need to scale up the intervention along the sustainability value chain. This includes improving productivity, production and strengthening the protection of the area and the ecosystem including addressing fire.

"The key to future blue skies, however, is to ensure inclusion of smallholders. They have to be supportive and want to be a part of a sustainable value chain. Smallholders should get access to support, not only in the context of productivity, but also access to finance," he said.

"The combination of providing guarantees to the market and guarantees of finance will be crucial for smallholders because for them the question is, if they have to do things differently, what types of incentives would they get?"

When looking at preventive measures, Mr Apichai observes that there is a pattern in hotspot occurrences which shouldn't be looked at as random kind of events.

"There is a pattern and synchronisation when a fire spikes, which means we could intervene more effectively," he said. "So, while there is clearly a problem, there is also hope in the problem."

This, however, would require further validation on the ground by authorities as to exactly what is happening in each of their jurisdictions.

"If we can pinpoint whatever the cause of such a phenomenon is, then intervention or prevention would likely be better since we can more or less predict when the next spike or peak would probably take place, and take preventive or minimising and reduction measures in a more effective and timely manner," he said.

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