Haze is not a word used often in the English language. If you ask Google what “haze” is, it might tell you that it is “a slight obscuration of the lower atmosphere, typically caused by fine suspended particles”. However ask any Singaporean what the “haze” is and if the answer isn’t clouded by obscenities directed at the offending country, you may find that it generally refers to the result of the seasonal burning of forests on the Indonesia island of Sumatra and in Kalimantan and when the prevailing winds carry the smoke northwards to choke Indonesia’s neighbours. Academically called the “transboundary haze”, this problem in Singapore is summarised as simply as “haze”.

 

How bad is it?

 

This is not a recent problem, I remember in 1997 having to endure the haze while at Kindergarten. Given that I hardly remember much from that time, it is quite remarkable. However the haze problem goes even further back.—The Straits Times reported that the haze problems stretches back to the 1970s with a 1972 Straits Times article headlined “Persistent haze” warning Singaporeans to prepare for more weeks of haze caused by fires in Sumatra and Indonesia Borneo. Sounds familiar?

 

The haze, regrettably, has become part of Singapore’s history and even education, with Geography students learning how the fires in Indonesia are created and their terrible effects on Indonesia’s ASEAN neighbours. Students are taught how the unsustainable farming practices such as burning forestation to clear land for farming leads to both the haze as well as poorer soil conditions. Clearing of farmland this way is illegal under Indonesia law but lax enforcement only encourages the practice. Recently the spotlight has fallen on Indonesian logging companies who clear land in this manner and there have been calls in Singapore to boycott companies that obtain pulpwood from these Indonesian companies. Furthermore there has been serious effort on the diplomatic front by Singapore to get Indonesia to tackle the problem. Within ASEAN, an ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was established to explore ways to fight the haze in 2002 with most countries ratifying it not long after. Indonesia however only ratified the agreement in September 2014 and Singapore’s frustrations with the region’s inability to combat the haze problem led to the enactment of a Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in 2014 that aimed to make companies, local or foreign, involved in the haze fires criminally liable for such acts. However such laws are limited by the fact that Singapore’s laws are irrelevant in Indonesia, our courts do not have any jurisdiction over acts committed on Indonesian soil though the enactment of the law does send a strong signal to Indonesia regarding Singapore’s commitment to tackling the problem.

 

Perhaps another way to look at the haze problem is to understand what the climate is like in Indonesia itself, aside from being hazy. Indonesians also suffer from the effects of haze and no doubt wish that it could end, the Pollutant Standard Index in Riau on many days is much worse than Singapore on its worst day. There is no doubt domestic pressure on the government to act. However the haze has remained here since the 1970s and that cannot alone by blamed on ineffective government and there are more intrinsic reasons why the problem is still so rampant.

 

What’s the intrinsic problem here?

 

Much has been made of Singapore’s diplomatic efforts to combat the haze and its willingness to prosecute companies involved in it. However two considerations stand out as being unexplored in Singapore, mostly because they pertain to Indonesia and hence do not receive that much exposure in Singapore. Firstly there is the issue of burning farmland as a matter of customary practice in Indonesia. Secondly, the haze problem is a domestic Indonesian issue with international repercussions for it. The statements made by certain government officials may seem ludicrous and insensitive to foreigners, but they do indicate Indonesia’s own domestic concerns in front of their own people and this sheds more light on the intractability of the haze problem.

 

Burning as custom

 

An article carried by The Star on 1st October 2011 by Francis Ng titled “Why Indonesia cannot stop the fires and haze” provides the interesting perspective that instead of greedy corporations trying to cash in on the easiest means of clearing land, the fires and the haze caused by it are a result of customs practiced by locals, and by simply blaming the logging industry and big companies, the real issues are ignored and solutions that are used miss the problem.

 

The article outlined how the settlers causing the fires in Kalimantan were children of the original Transmigrasi migrants from Java, encouraged to move there by the Indonesian government. The children of these migrants who had moved there under these land schemes were now spreading out all over Kalimantan and clearing land for themselves.

Against this backdrop, a custom developed—any land cleared and occupied belongs to whoever clears and occupies it and any land that reverts back to jungle is open to others to clear and claim. This of course would mean that each settler would want to clear as much land as possible and that he would set fire to land not used whenever the weather is dry to prevent it from reverting back to jungle. This vicious cycle would only end when the land was bought and converted to permanent organised agriculture such as oil palm growing.

 

To these poor farmers, such actions were necessary for their economic survival and in the absence of a land ownership system that would enable farmers to legally own the land without resorting to burning it, the farmers would always end up setting fire to their land to ensure their livelihood.

 

Another set of fires are set by Bugis rice farmers from Sulawesi in peat areas near the coast who cleared the forests by fire after their gigantic ramin trees had been extracted by loggers. As the peat is many metres deep and unsuitable for growing rice, the farmers grow pineapples and other acid-tolerant plants most of the year but during the dry season, they set the peat on fire and burn off a part of it. This would, after about 10 years, burn off all the peat the farmers would be able to grow rice on mineral soil.

 

Francis Ng in his article criticised solutions like sending in firefighters or proseucting landowners for creating fires as being good only on paper and noted that it served the purposes of environmental organisations and media outlets to simplify the problem. His opinion has some merit. Indonesia is a vast country with many islands, each with its own unique customs and practices. The targeting of large corporations who participate in the burning is not a poor solution, but it is only a partial solution to a bigger problem. There is no doubt that independent farmers are continuing such unsustainable practices but given that some of them depend on farming for their livelihood, can we really say to them that they should resort to less effective means that would reduce the haze but lessen their earnings from the land? It is not an easy decision to make either way. There needs to be community engagement on the ground in Indonesia and a willingness by both the government and farmers to explore their options.

 

The problem of diplomatic posturing and Indonesia’s own domestic concerns

 

Most Singaporeans are familiar with Indonesian Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, if only for his comments in March 2015 about Indonesia’s neighbours, that “[f]or 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us. They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset”. This mostly served to enrage Singaporeans even more. This comment seems unthinkable to us, but consider how it must sound to an Indonesian. Not all Indonesians suffer from the haze, Indonesia is an archipelago with over 1,904,569 km2 of land area, the haze as rampant as it as now, is not evident over much of it. Those Indonesians living in Riau and other affected areas are understandably furious over government inability to resolve the haze crisis. Nonetheless attacks on the government’s handling have also come from Singaporean ministers such as former Minister for Foreign Affairs, K. Shanmugam who in reference to statements made by Indonesian officials he did not name, questioned, “How is it possible for senior people in government to issue such statements, without any regard for their people, or ours, and without any embarrassment, or sense of responsibility?”. His strong comments understandably underscore the tensions caused by the haze but the fact that they are being traded in the international arena creates a situation where Indonesian officials are put on the defensive. Under siege by both international and domestic pressures, it is unfortunate but understandable that Indonesian officials would lash out at international comments criticising their efforts. Elected officials are always concerned about their perception in the eyes of the electorate and Indonesia is no different especially when faced with international criticism. The key to understanding Indonesia’s response towards its regional neighbours is to understand their own responsibilities and concerns regarding their own people, this is understandably difficult as Indonesia has been sluggish in the past in clamping down on the haze.

 

It has appeared that Indonesia, in accepting Singapore’s offer of assistance, revealed that it had earlier rejected Singapore’s offers of assistance because it was concerned that the city state would claim credit for solving the problem. As exasperating as it is to hear Indonesia play politics even at this hour, we must understand that it does not serve any of us any good if we put Indonesia in a corner and make it look bad in front of its government’s domestic audience. In previous years Indonesia has seen fit to lash out at its international critics or offer apologies but with no substantial actions. What Singapore and its ASEAN neighbours need to do is to engage Indonesia in a cooperative and collaborative manner, to rise above the temptation to resort to political mudslinging and work together to offer solutions. Singapore’s continued offering of firefighting assistance to Indonesia is indicative of such an attitude, the continuance of the offer no doubt a indication of the Republic’s wish to end the haze and not merely score a few political points at Indonesia’s expense. Singapore’s attitude towards solving this crisis is one that must continue if we ever wish to see blue skies in September.

 

What’s the solution?

 

Singapore has done a very great deal to solve or at least mitigate another country’s problems. We have enacted the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act that makes companies liable for prosecution if they engage in illegal burning. However as Professor Alan Tan of the NUS Law Faculty in his Working Paper 2015/002 titled “The ‘Haze’ Crisis In Southeast Asia: Assessing Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014” at page 43 comments, the Act has more value in its symbolic stance rather than making much headway in turning the tide in the haze battle.

 

“Of course, a successful prosecution could go a long way in mollifying an angry public, but there is no guarantee that it will resolve the problem. This is simply because there are too many other entities or plantation interests using fires to clear land in Sumatra, Kalimantan and other parts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago. Ultimately, Indonesian enforcement and prosecution action on the ground will matter most to resolve the problem at its core, together with cooperation mechanisms among regional states”

Prof Tan highlights a critical point that it is Indonesian action that is the key to solving the haze crisis. Singapore’s actions are at best, symbolic, simply because of our small size and the difficulties in governing Indonesia. The recent call by CASE to boycott goods made by companies engaging in illegal burning will result in said companies losing money and Singaporean feeling better about themselves, but will it stop the haze? Unlikely.

 

At the end of the day, it is a matter of will of the Indonesian government regarding the fires that will stop the haze. President Joko Widodo has made positive steps in this direction, accepting international offers of help including Singapore’s and embarking on building water reserves in the forest and canals to provide water to the hotspots while promising laws against such burnings will be enforced. He told the BBC that “You will see results soon and in three years we will have solved this,” whether or not his words will be kept remain to be seen but it is hopeful that in 3 years’ time, with the support of Singapore and ASEAN, Indonesia would have solved this haze on both our skies and in our bilateral relations.