To solve the haze crisis, governments must ‘follow the science’
The ongoing fires are a symptom of a deeper problem with peatland water management. Researchers have shown what works, and why the effort must continue.
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Fighting fires is only a downstream response to the haze crisis. The real solution lies upstream, in better management of peatlands to prevent fires from starting, says the writer.
PHOTO: PEATLAND RESTORATION AGENCY, INDONESIA
South-east Asia’s transboundary haze can evoke a range of responses from those of us affected by it: anger, anxiety, litigiousness, stoicism or perhaps just resignation.
All are, in their own way, reasonable reactions to a phenomenon that causes so much harm yet threatens to return each dry season – even as each episode ends with renewed resolve that it must never happen again.