There is a need for more robust domestic policies to ensure that Malaysian companies operating abroad are not contributing to forest and peat fires
22 COLUMN
ESG | MAY-JUNE , 2023
Is the haze back ?
There is a need for more robust domestic policies to ensure that Malaysian companies operating abroad are not contributing to forest and peat fires
BY THE GREEN DUDE
FOR the last couple of months , we all have been dealing with the increase in temperature of our environment . Generally , we attribute it to climate change . Temperatures rising means outdoor activities are being restricted primarily in schools , among other things .
Even the Education Ministry has allowed teachers and pupils to wear collared t-shirts to school to reduce the effect of heat on everyone .
We must have noticed a particular pattern in the weather in the last couple of months . The mornings will be cooler , but by noon the temperature gets hot faster and outdoor work must be scaled down between noon and 3.0pm .
It reminded me of when I was in Dubai some 10 years ago when I experienced the same situation . Construction work had to stop by law to prevent heat stroke . I never thought then that this would happen in Malaysia .
We now experience thunderstorms and heavy rain in the evenings , albeit only for about half an hour or so . A few Fridays ago , the thunderstorms created havoc and damaged a few schools in the Keramat area and elsewhere . By nightfall , things get cooler , and the trend in April-May was heavy rains occurring in the wee hours of the morning .
This is most welcome as the mornings will be cooler and a great time to cycle and do some gardening . And so the cycle goes on – but for how long ?
MONITORING , PREVENTION AND MITIGATION
As I got into the car this morning , I noticed that my windscreen was dusty and had to wash it off . It was not raining last night . And as I drove out , I noticed that the sky was hazy .
No , unlike the mist in the last few mornings after the rain , the haze is back !
The haze crisis in Southeast Asia started way back in 2009 , around June . It was due to massive forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan . The dry winds blew smoke across , affecting Malaysia , Brunei , Singapore , Thailand and of course , Indonesia itself .
I remember my friends in Pekan Baru , Sumatra , called it “ asap ” or smoke . Surprisingly , they were not perturbed by it while we were upset and angry , blaming them for the cause of the problem . It became an annual problem until their ASEAN members and civil societies pressured the Indonesian government to take legal action against companies that used the open burning method to clear the land for new plantations . In the last few years , the haze problem has become less severe , apparently due to strict enforcement by government agencies .
ASEAN members quickly agreed to adopt the Regional Haze Action Plan ( RHAP ) with corresponding national action plans and implementation measures , prescribing action of three fronts – monitoring , prevention and mitigation .
According to a Greenpeace Southeast Asia report in 2019 , some key points were that the massive forest fires occurred for four months , from July to October 2019 . The key driver of forest fires is the clearing and draining of forest and peatland for industrial plantations .
Transboundary haze from these fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra reached Singapore and Malaysia in September 2019 , worsening the measured air quality .
Many of these fires burned adjacent to oil palm and pulp and paper plantations . Some plantation companies with fires on their land were linked to Malaysian and Singaporean groups .
A TRANSBOUNDARY POLLUTION ACT NEEDED
While Indonesia ’ s rainforests and peatlands are naturally fireproof because of the damp microclimate they maintain throughout the year , widespread fires are virtually unheard of , where they dominate Indonesia ’ s landscape . Small-scale forest fires by the natives for subsistence agriculture activities are not detrimental to the environment as the forests can recover over time .
However , in recent decades these stable human-modified ecological systems have been logged and subjected to clearance and drainage for conversion into industrial plantations on a massive scale . Since the 1997 Indonesian forest fire disaster , uncontrolled forest fires and peatland fires have become recognised as recurring problems arising from areas where vast oil palm and pulpwood plantations have sprung up .
Prevailing winds during the dry season of July-October often carry a thick smoke haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan towards Singapore ,
Malaysia and , to a lesser extent Southern Thailand .
Environmental NGO Greenpeace Malaysia is now on a campaign for action for members of the public to sign a petition and to get their MPs to enact A Transboundary Pollution Act ( THPA ). According to media reports in May 2023 , Greenpeace organised a “ Haze : Coming Soon ” exhibition featuring artworks , film screenings and info displays to raise awareness of the urgency of haze pollution and the need for action .
In 2019 , the then-Malaysian government drafted the act and wanted it tabled , but it was abandoned after the change of government in March 2020 . The government still uses diplomatic channels , but the NGO feels that diplomatic cooperation can co-exist with the transboundary haze act .
The exhibition through ‘ artivism ’ using visual art to promote change through emotions and information , story-telling and engaging more people will provide better chances for a social movement to occur . The information will also highlight the vicious cycle of haze and its effect on our health and environment .
A SENSE OF HOPE
This unique , multifaceted event at REXKL on May 5-14 was a joint effort by Greenpeace Malaysia , Studio Birthplace and Splash & Burn and attracted about 6,000 visitors , including policymakers , which was a prelude to the ASEAN transboundary haze meeting . Besides film screening , “ Haze Corridor ” displayed the severity and effects of haze from 1991 to 2019 , a stark reminder of living through recurring haze episodes for over three decades .
At the forum , panellists also discussed the complex challenges of tackling the haze problem within their respective fields . This shows the need for more robust domestic policies , such as enacting the THPA to ensure that Malaysian companies operating abroad are not contributing to forest and peat fires .
The forum also highlighted the need to keep the conversation about air pollution alive throughout the year , even when the skies overhead are clear . As we all know , Malaysians tend to have this “ mudah lupa ” syndrome , and even the media will quickly drop the topic of haze and pollution from their news agenda .
In a nutshell , the topic of the environment tends to be quickly forgotten until disaster strikes . However , while driving through the hazy skies this morning , I suddenly felt a sense of fear , a reminder of the time of the haze when waking up in the night and looking at the hazy environment from my room , I felt an eerie sense of entrapment , almost choking me .
However , I also hoped that the haze would suddenly disappear when the rains came . This cannot be how we all tackle the problem as it will soon become more severe with climate change and global warming , humanity ’ s greatest challenge today . – @ ESG
The GREEN DUDE feels that environmental education and ‘ artivism ’ should start in schools and universities . This must now be a top priority besides the issue of recycling , which seems to give a false sense of satisfaction that we are all doing something to save the earth . The haze must now be the topical problem that demands immediate action for teachers and students for the future of their world .