OVER the last five decades, the problem of transboundary air pollution due to the South-east Asian haze has become progressively serious. During the 1960s and the 1970s, the problem already existed. However, it was minor and thus did not garner much attention in the countries that were affected by it. It was neither a political nor a social issue, and did not attract any serious media attention.

The situation started to change in the late 1980s; and by the first half of the 1990s, transboundary haze problems could no longer be ignored. As the area under palm oil cultivation grew dramatically during the 1990s and the post-2000 periods, the haze became an important public policy issue in Malaysia and Singapore. The environmental, economic and health impact of the transboundary haze is now very serious, and has also become major public and media concerns that can no longer be ignored.

Indonesia is the country that suffers the most from the haze. It is also the country which benefits the most from palm oil production. The benefits in terms of export earnings, employment generation and providing livelihood for millions of Indonesian households are substantial. In contrast, countries such as Singapore and Malaysia get no benefits but pay heavy costs due to the haze that originates in another country and on which they have only limited say.