Abstract
Recurrent haze in Southeast Asian countries including Singapore is largely attributable to rampant forest fires in Indonesia due to, for example, extensive slash-and-burn (S & B) culture. Drawing on the “treadmill of production” and environmental governance approach, we examine causes and consequences of this culture. We found that, despite some perceived benefits, its environmental consequences include deforestation, soil erosion and degradation, global warming, threats to biodiversity, and trans-boundary haze pollution, while the societal consequences comprise regional tension, health risks, economic and productivity losses, as well as food insecurity. We propose sustainability through a plural coexistence framework of governance for targeting S & B that incorporates strategies of incentives, education and community resource management.
Highlights
The world’s rapidly growing population has been a long-standing cause of concern amongst both economists and environmentalists alike
In 1997, for example, due to haze pollution, Singapore recorded a Pollution Standards Index (PSI) level of 226, which rocketed to a reading of 401 in the mid-2013 bout of haze, as reported by BBC News (21 June 2013)
In Singapore, haze in 1994 and 1997 from forest fires resulted in prolonged high levels of PM10 at 150-180μg m3 [7] as well as a fifty percent spike in carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations [25]
Summary
The world’s rapidly growing population has been a long-standing cause of concern amongst both economists and environmentalists alike. In 1997, for example, due to haze pollution, Singapore recorded a Pollution Standards Index (PSI) level of 226, which rocketed to a reading of 401 in the mid-2013 bout of haze, as reported by BBC News (21 June 2013) These figures demand a deeper analysis of the practice of S & B and the consequences it has, on the country in which it is practiced, and on neighboring nations that are affected by it. This paper investigates the technique of S & B in a comprehensive manner—studying the reasons for employing S & B, the resulting effects of forest fires, and corrective measures to control the issue It utilizes the treadmill of production theory to assess the extent to which S & B depletes resources from the environment and simultaneously produces wastes that are harmful to it [4]. The implementations of these national and trans-national recommendations would greatly diminish the dangerous impacts of S & B on the affected countries
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