Smoke palls return to Southeast Asia

Abstract

Dense smoke from forest fires is again blanketing large expanses of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Three years ago, smog from similar fires drastically reduced visibility in many Southeast-Asian cities and heralded some of the most catastrophic forest destruction in the world. Air pollution from forest burning became so severe that many urban residents were forced to wear masks. Those fires led to an estimated US$9.3 billion in economic losses, resulting from the destruction of agricultural land, negative impacts on public health and tourism, and other causes.The current fires are ignited by slash-and-burn farmers, especially in Borneo and Sumatra, as they clear forests to plant crops. Although Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have technically banned forest burning, there has been virtually no enforcement of the decrees, especially among small farmers in the region.In response to the pall of smoke that is sharply reducing visibility in major cities, such as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has banned the release of specific air-pollution readings, claiming that negative media reports would hurt its tourism industry. Before the ban, monitoring stations in Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak had reported unhealthy levels of air pollution and many residents complained of throat irritation.In percentage terms, Southeast Asia has the highest rate of deforestation of any major tropical region. Illegal fires, logging and large-scale clearing for oil-palm plantations are among the main causes of forest destruction. WFL