Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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              Health Problems Widening from Asian Rainforest Fires

   by Steve Herman

   Officials in Thailand are warning smoke pollution from Indonesia's
   massive rainforest fires is affecting public health in four southern
   provinces.

   For weeks, haze from Indonesia's land clearing has prompted health
   alerts in that country, as well as in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.

   Poor air quality has led to cancelations of classes, sporting events
   and other public activities.

   Indonesian farmers and developers routinely burn rainforest to clear
   land at this time of year, but a large rise in palm oil production is
   blamed for the massive fires and the resulting haze.  NASA forecasts
   this year's fires will become the region's worst on record.

   Although the pollution spreads across the region, so too do the profits
   from businesses behind the land clearing.  Indonesian, Malaysian and
   Singaporean investors and companies have close links with the
   politicians and officials in Indonesia, creating a conflict of
   interest, according to those who have studied the issue.

   "Once they retire from the government they are re-employed in these
   companies as advisors and as other positions to maintain this
   relationship with the present government," asserts Helena Binti Muhamad
   Varkkey, deputy executive director of the Asia-Europe Institute at the
   University of Malaya.

   No punishments for polluters

   The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to
   mitigate the issue for decades, in part through its agreement on
   trans-boundary haze pollution which Indonesia ratified last year.

   "There is no dispute settlement, there is no enforcement, there is no
   punishment mechanisms in the agreement.  So even though it is supposed
   to be legally binding it is pretty much still up to Indonesia whether
   or not they want to really follow the rules and all that spelled out in
   the agreement," Varkkey, author of the book "The Haze Problem in
   Southeast Asia," told VOA.

   The answer to the problem, according to Varkkey, is not banning palm
   oil production, important to the economies of Indonesia and Malaysia.
   Rather she advocates using other, ample forest land instead of the more
   desirable sparsely populated but fire-prone peat lands.

   "When fires occur on these really dry peat lands they produce the very
   thick black smoke that can travel across national boundaries and this
   is what produces the haze that we find today," explained Varkkey.

   Environmental organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature are
   taking a multi-pronged approach to combating the problem.

   WWF is raising consumers' awareness, claiming half the products in
   supermarkets contain palm oil, including pizza, ice cream, toothpaste
   and lipstick. ([1]WWF PSA in Singapore)

   It also advocates sustainable lending practices for commercial logging,
   palm oil and pulp production, something Singapore's powerful banks are
   examining.

   Only four major banks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore take
   environmental factors into consideration for credit decisions,
   according to a WWF report.

   Some argue shutting down pools of capital available to polluters could
   have more impact than pursuits by law enforcement.

   "Currently the threats of being prosecuted depends on whether there is
   an adequate police force in the region and investigations," said Jeanne
   Stampe, WWF International's Asia finance and commodities specialist.

   "Whereas upfront if their lenders and investors are starting to ask
   them about their practices and requiring them to make certain
   commitments then it is very hard for them to escape effectively or
   continuing going under the radar."

   Billions in losses

   The status quo is costing big money.  This year's fires and resulting
   commercial losses are expected to surpass the price from the 1997/98
   rainforest fires that cost the regional economies an estimated $9
   billion, according to ASEAN.

   Attempts to extinguish the current estimated 1,800 hotspots in
   Indonesia are being hampered by a lack of equipment and water.

   "Because of the haze I'm having respiratory problem" said Zainal, a
   resident from Jambi on Sumatra island.  "I feel terrible."

   Millions of other residents in the region can empathize.

   Parents in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province on Sumatra, took
   their babies to the air-conditioned governor's office Tuesday as part
   of an evacuation.

   "It's safe here because this place is sterilized, the air is clean
   unlike outside," said one mother, Nur Habiba Al Ashraf.  "My child was
   coughing before he came here, but now he's fine."

   The haze is not only affecting humans.

   At the BOS Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue Center in Central Kalimantan
   province of Indonesian Borneo 16 orangutan babies have been diagnosed
   with Acute Respiratory Infections.

   "I am very worried if such conditions continue, there will be a lot of
   orangutans that become sick or have some sort of relapse due to the bad
   air quality," said program manager Denny Krniawan.  "They could
   possibly even die."
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/health-problems-widening-from-asian-r
   ainforest-fires/2993386.html

References

   1. https://youtu.be/-NRp-SopBDc
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/health-problems-widening-from-asian-rainforest-fires/2993386.html