Enough is enough. After 18 years of lame excuses and inaction, it is time for the international community to penalize Indonesia for the recurrent haze problem from forest fires. It is clear by now that domestic, regional and global responsibility is not a priority for the Indonesian government.
Background/cause
Since the late 1990s, forest fires have been an annual occurrence in Indonesia, home to the world’s largest palm oil industry. It is a lucrative business which accounts for about 11% of the country’s export earnings. Indonesia’s national disaster agency has owned the fact that 99% of the fires are caused by humans: plantation companies and small-scale farmers typically employ the slash-and-burn method for land clearing prior to palm oil plantations.
How severe is the problem this year?
The forest fire which has started since July has been identified as the second worst on Indonesian record since 1997. Till date, 19 people have died from haze-related illnesses. More than 500,000 have reported acute respiratory illnesses. Over 43 million people have been inhaling toxic fume and particulate matters from the burning.
The problem is not confined to Indonesia alone. The haze has also shrouded neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, prompting school closures, flight cancellations and businesses disruptions. By some estimation, the fires could cost the South East Asian countries over US$14 billion in environmental, health and other damages.*
Indonesia’s fires are now considered the worst climate crisis in the world. It has contributed significantly to global carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change. In the past two months, Indonesia’s daily emissions have exceeded those of China on at least 14 days, while its m...
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...ortunately, desperate civilians, neighboring countries and the global community do not have that luxury of time and are fed up of waiting. Nor can the words be trusted, since other presidents prior to this have made somewhat similar commitments.
Call to action
Diplomacy and cooperation are no longer the effective mode of engagement with the Indonesian government. The only option left is to penalize them. ASEAN members must send an unequivocally strong message to Jakarta to cooperate with its neighbors to tackle the haze. They must also create mechanisms to impose sanctions and punitive measures on the repeat offender. Importantly, the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution must be amended to confer member countries with enforcement powers.
Importer countries of palm oil must hit the Indonesian government where it hurts the most through economic sanctions.
Australia is currently the driest continent in the world and has a vast history of fire to prove it. Bushfires in the Adelaide Hills were first described and recorded in 1827, and have occurred at frequent intervals since that time. Fire weather can reach extremes in places such as Rudall River National Park in NW Western Australia. Temperatures are often above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), dew points can drop to —37 degrees Celsius, and the winds, uninhibited by trees, can reach speeds of 50-60 km/h (31-37 mph) at any given time in the year. The fuels there may appear to be completely dead, and gaps between plants may be a meter or more (Gill, 1995). In 1966 a massive fire at Brooyar, Queensland had flame heights of 20-25 meters (65-82 feet). In addition to being devastating, the fires are also very unpredictable. A bushfire in the Baulkham Hills in January of 1975 completely destroyed property and some homes, while leaving others untouched. Serious fires occur in the Dandenog Ranges at frequent intervals, and housing there has always been a difficult problem with fire control [3]. Fire has also been used for centuries as an important tool for land management (O’Neill, 1993).
Power lines, Lighting, machinery and Arsonist are confirmed causes of the Black Saturday Bushfires. The drought, the hot temperatures, strong winds and the other factors are said to be the cause of the black Saturday bushfires
As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.
Allergens in the air also affect pollution, as carbon dioxide levels cause plants to produce more pollen (Climate Change, 2007). Smoke pollution from wildfires worsens the air quality and is harmful to breathe in. Wildfire smoke contains ozone-forming pollutants, particulates, and air toxics (California’s drought, 2015). The drought increases dry, hot, and windy weather, which intensifies the severity of wildfires. According to the CDC, the drought also increases the risk of catching fungal infections, or valley fever (Live Science Staff, 2012).
Not all the villagers have access to biogas stoves. For those villagers that use biogas there is no smoke when cooking, but they do not have access to biogas all year round.
Wilson, Tim. "Memo to Indonesia: Clear the Red Tape." Sydney Morning Herald - Business & World News
GreenPalm (2015) states how ‘the removal of acres of rainforest threatens the rich biodiversity’ in the ‘ecosystems’. Highlighting the risks of the cutting of the oil palm trees to produce the palm oil to both the environment and also the organisms which live within the areas, as certain species in the areas of the clearing of land, mainly with the palm oil ‘exported from Indonesia and Malaysia’ according to Say-No-To-Palm-Oil (2015), face possible extinction. There is still however ways in which the production of palm oil can be sustainable to the environment, as palm oil is essential for the use by humans because of the containment of the nutrients and also with the production of foods and
Many companies have turned to sustainable palm oil, palm oil that is produced on plantations that reuse the land for their agricultural purposes, thus supplying more palm oil without the destruction of natural forests. Some choose to boycott palm oil entirely, but this alternative will not significantly change the demand for palm oil. Vegetable oil is used abundantly and oil palm trees are the quickest producing oil crops, concluding them necessary to satisfy the demand for edible oils. Not only is palm oil versatile for its uses and quick to produce, but it is a major component to the economy in Indonesia and Malaysia. Many people living in these countries struggle with poverty, and agriculture of sustainable palm oil is how a great deal of people support themselves and their families. If the boycott of palm oil were successful, a considerable population of people would be unemployed and
Since 1997 after the first agreement in Kyoto, nations have taken very limited steps to reducing greenhouse gas emission. There are many reasons why greenhouse gasses have increased such as rainforest deforestation which is vital since trees absorb carbon dioxide. With fewer trees more carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere. Usage and burning of fossil fuel, releases greenhouse gases since it burns and emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or even population growth which contributes to the high supply and demand for food, livestock, land, energy and water. However it is up to leading nations to change their eco-footprints to eliminate the increasing greenhouse gas affect. Author William Nordhaus of Yale University conducted a study which examines alternative outcomes for emissions, clima...
These fuels include coal, oil products such as gasoline, and natural gas. Use of these fuels has a number of harmful health and environmental effects. According to the World Health Organization, outdoor air pollution, most of it from burning fossil fuels, especially coal kills at least 800,000 people each year and causes health problems for tens of millions of others. Technology is available to reduce such air pollution, but using it is costly and results in higher fuel
The Forest fire is occurring very frequently nowadays, reasons for it are a heavy increase in global warming and an increase in temperature.
One of the most evident problems associated to the environment is the issue of the logging of trees, mainly in undisturbed places such as the Amazon basin. Trees are considered the lungs of the Earth. They recycle all the polluting carbon in the air and return oxygen back into our atmosphere, creating a stable cycle of carbon in our atmosphere. However, the impeccable rates which trees are being cut down in our forests have grown to ever increasing and alarming rates. Trees that are made way for farming are burnt up releasing deadly amounts of carbon and thus leading to the problem of global warming. As its names suggest the world is slowly warming up and without any notice the environment which God has gave us will be slowly eradicated. The daily lives which humans carry on about every day are also a factor influencing on our environment and global warming. By driving cars that have a thirst for petrol we are releasing carbon dioxide and furthermore impacting on the world?s climate. In Australia environmental impact has always been evident. Land clearing especially in places such as Queensland has caused land to lay dry and lifeless where all forms of life is destroyed. By clearing land we are not only affecting our climate but are also destroying animal habitat and the usage of the land. Senseless actions by commuters in Australia, emitting tons and tons of lethal gases vulnerable to the atmosphere are starting to take its toll on our climate. We are seeing a harsher climate and at the same time less rain. If we want to preserve our world we must take a stance on this issue and take action for what is right, not carrying on the actions that will lead to a desolate, destroyed Earth.
According to Article 3 paragraph 1 of the UN’ s legally binding Framework Convention on climate change(Which convention??) “ The Parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generation of humankind”. Nowadays, the unforeseen and adverse effects of climate change declare their presence worldwide. Temperatures and sea-levels are rising, glaciers are shrinking and extreme weather phenomena such as floods and droughts are becoming more and more common. As it is known of course, global challenges require global solutions. The international community, in accordance with Article 3 paragraph 3 of the same Convention, promoted some measures, in order to minimize these effects. Such initiatives includes, the ratification of international treaties, the compulsion with precautionary measures and the adoption of specific policies that would result to the elimination of the causes of climate change. In addition to these, during the Rio+20 Summit, 108 governments adopted three major agreements: Agenda 21, a program for action in all areas of sustainable development, The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, that specifies each State’s rights and responsibilities and the Statement of Forest Principles. Furthermore, many initiatives have been taken also by NGO’s,such as Greenpeace, supranational and intergovernmental mechanisms like E.U., as for example the adoption of the National Environment Strategy for the period till 2020, the National Action Plan for 2009-20012, the establishment of an emission trading system as an instrument that has to deal with the management of GHG emissions.
Factories and transportation depend on huge amounts of fuel--billions of tons of coal and oil are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels burn they introduce smoke and other, less visible, by-products into the atmosphere.
Here, we could see that the condition of the world which face a big and global problem at that time that might lead to a huge destraction in the future which created many demands from the International societies to start thinking about the problem by conducting several conventions and ends with Kyoto Protocol could be assumed as an input that came from the environment. By the demands and the supports to the Kyoto Protocol which at that time arose, Indonesia ends with ratified this Kyoto