1. LIFE&FAMILY
112 March16
A HazyIssue
L
astyear,likemanypeopleacross
the region, I was outraged by the
weeks of haze that rolled into
months, until it finally dissipated
in early December with the arrival of the
northeast monsoon. But the infuriation
for me reached fever pitch when we
took a long-awaited break in Phuket,
Thailand, and a much-anticipated boat
trip to Phang Nga Bay. Like much of the
region,itwasblanketedinsmoke–touse
a skiing analogy, a whiteout.
I found it incomprehensible that we
could be cruising this normally stunning
bay, trying to peer at the beautiful karst
limestone formations through poor
visibility caused by preventable fires
raging hundreds of kilometres away.
In one way I wished I were as ignorant
as some of the tourists around me who
thought that grey skies were the norm
in this part of the world.
It got me thinking – not least because
the inconvenience to me was so trivial
compared to the serious health issues
and innumerable disruptions to daily
life that the haze causes to millions of
people. What is the truth behind these
unhealthy skies? How does it relate
to our consumption of palm oil? If the
impact of the fires could spread so far
While the political and corporate response to last year’s terrible
haze pollution has been less than overwhelming, its causes and
the consequences for people across Southeast Asia are clear. In
view of the haze predicted to return this month, we took a close
look at the facts, with the help of WWF.
A HazyIssue
into the region, what do the locals at
ground zero think? And what can we as
individuals do to help?
2015: a perfect storm
Haze pollution is attributed to the
unsustainable “slash-and-burn”
practices used in land clearance to
make way for palm oil plantations.
Singapore has been affected since the
1970s, owing to its proximity to Malaysia
and Indonesia where 85 percent of
global palm oil is produced. Production
of the oil rose from 10 million tonnes per
year in 1990 to 50 million tonnes in 2011.
“Unfortunately, 2015 was a perfect
storm of haze conditions,” says Kim
Stengert, Communications Director at
WWF-Singapore. “The combination of
an expanding palm oil industry driven by
consumerdemandforthemanyproducts
containing palm oil, poor agricultural
management practices including slash-
and-burn clearance, and the presence of
the cyclical weather phenomenon known
as El Niño, which brings hot, dry weather,
meant the conditions were ideal for fires
to spread.”
Winds carried the resulting smoke
hundreds of kilometres over Southeast
Asia, reaching Singapore, Brunei,
Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines,
and causing health, economic and
environmental impacts across all
those countries. Peatlands contributed
significantly to the haze – even if fires are
extinguishedonthesurface,smouldering
fires burn underground in the carbon-rich
peat swamps.
The Guardian reported that, as of 11
November, 19 people had died and an
estimated 500,000 cases of respiratory
tract infections had been reported since
thestartofthefiresinJuly.Someestimates
say that the fires could cause more than
100,000 premature deaths in the region.
In 2015, the World Resources Institute
reported nearly 100,000 active fire
detections in Indonesia. Incredibly,
on some days, the daily estimated
greenhouse gas emissions from fires
in Indonesia surpassed average daily
emissions from the entire US economy.
What can be done?
According to Kim Stengert, the solution
to haze pollution won’t come from one
angle only. “It is action on the part of
multiple parties that’s needed to solve
this problem. Consumers must make the
connection between the things they are
purchasing and the growth of plantation
agricultureinIndonesia,andstartinsisting
onsustainablepalmoilasthewayforward.
“At the same time, companies
growing palm oil and manufacturers
and retailers using palm oil products
must embrace a more sustainable way
of doing business. Although many large
What’s in the air in 2016?
By Katie
Roberts

2. ENVIRONMENT
113March16
palm oil companies have pledged not
to convert any new natural forest, this
needs to move from a code of conduct
to governmental legislation to protect
forests with high conservation value.
“And we need strong legislation with
complete protection for peatlands. The
current moratorium on them issued by
the Indonesian President in October
2015 prevents planting on peat with a
depth greater than three metres. WWF
would like to see this extended to all
peatlands, regardless of depth,” he says.
Local feelings
When the haze is particularly thick in the
air in Singapore, horrifying reports come
through of PSI readings hovering at
1,000 for locals living in hotspots. Yet a
report commissioned by the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) shows
that 59 percent of consumers surveyed
in Indonesia view palm oil as mostly
positive; most respondents identified
palm oil simply as cooking oil.
While they observe that palm oil
provides jobs, increases the welfare
of smallholders and increases state
revenue, their understanding about
the impact on the environment and
communities is low. In response to
these results, the RSPO has developed
a series of in-depth observations and
recommendations for companies,
governments and environmental groups.
Fact or fiction?
It’s all Indonesia’s fault. WWF says
consumers have been driving the
expansion of the palm oil industry
through the things we buy. Palm oil is in
50 percent of the packaged goods on
supermarket shelves, and the majority of
this palm oil is produced unsustainably,
contributing to deforestation and
affecting the rights and wellbeing of local
communities. Currently, only around 20
percent of the global palm oil supply
is sustainable. WWF is campaigning
to raise this percentage and make
sustainable palm oil the norm.
I can’t do anything to help it. The
WWF urges everyone to lend their
voice to the campaign for a switch to
sustainable palm oil. This support gives
WWF an even stronger argument when
persuading manufacturers and retailers
to buy sustainable palm oil products.
If it’s not in the ingredient list, it
does not contain palm oil. Palm oil can
masquerade behind other names, most
commonly as just vegetable oil, and it
has become an accepted ingredient in
everything from toothpaste to lipstick;
but you are unlikely to see sustainable
palm oil listed as such. WWF says
consumers must put pressure on
manufacturers and retailers to support
sustainable palm oil options.
Palm oil is bad; we should boycott it.
As the global population grows, so does
the demand for commodities. Palm oil
is the most used oil in the world, and a
boycott on palm oil would merely see
it replaced with another oil product.
Currently, palm oil is the most efficient
and versatile oil option, producing more
yield per hectare than any alternative oil
To help put an end to the haze, support a complete ban on planting on peat in
Indonesia at earthhour.wwf.sg.
Definitions to remember
Pollution Standard Index (PSI): an air-quality index that is based on
whichever of six pollutants is worst at the time – sulphur dioxide, particulate
matter and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide and ozone. For example, if PM2.5 concentration is the highest
for the day, the PSI reading will be based on PM2.5.
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5): particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5
microns or less. This is 20 to 30 times smaller than the thickness of a strand
of hair; these particles are so small they can penetrate deeply into the lungs
and may even be able to cross into the blood. The World Health Organisation
has classified fine particulate matter as a cause of lung cancer.
Peatlands: wetland areas composed of soil and made up of thousands of
years of decaying vegetation. Peatlands store carbon which, when burned,
is released as CO2, a major greenhouse gas and contributor to climate
change. Palm oil companies divert water away from this fertile land to make
it suitable for palm oil planting. Dried peatlands are like tinder and catch
fire very easily. In 2015, 79 percent of fires in the region were on peatlands.
crop. Replacing it with something else
would require more land to produce
similar quantities of oil. The palm oil
industry has also lifted communities
out of poverty, providing livelihoods and
incomes that promise education and a
brighter future for many. The answer,
then, is to farm palm oil differently, in
a sustainable way that limits adverse
impacts on the environment.
What’s predicted for 2016?
Indonesia’s Climate Agency has already
predicted that March will see the return of
the haze as the dry season kicks in. Also
expected is another surge in the El Niño
effect. “The haze problem is not over and
will not be over until all plantations, large
andsmall,switchtosustainablepractices
and ‘no-burn’ policies; as consumers, our
purchasing choices can pressure them
to do this,” says Kim Stengert.