The dry season is the period for slash and burn in Southeast Asia. Each July to October, smoke from agriculture and clearing of forests chokes not only the countries burning (mainly Indonesia), but also neighbouring countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Southern Thailand. Forest fires and smoke haze in Southeast Asia have, over the years, resulted in serious health risks, environmental damage and economic ramifications well beyond borders.
Fining the perpetrators is risky. Boycotts of haze-linked products such as palm oil penalise well-behaved plantations as well as errant ones.
What if, instead, the victims were to pay? Paying polluters to adopt fire-free land clearing practices could be the economic solution the region needs. Particularly if countries were willing to overlook narrow national interests and acknowledge the transnational effects of haze on economies and societies.
