Transboundary haze pollution is posing significant multiple risks to the well-being and security of people in ASEAN. Beyond looking at it as an environmental issue, it is a severe threat to human security that requires serious commitment at the national and regional level.

The haze from Indonesia’s forest fires has returned, and in more severe form. After the 2013 haze episode which saw the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) level in Singapore hit an all-time high of 401, the haze this time has been worsened by the El Nino effect which has caused a prolonged dry spell in the region. No respite is in sight in the days to come and the fires and haze are set to last over a longer period.

The duration and intensity of the transboundary haze that has engulfed the region for weeks is making it a serious human security threat to populations in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The most severe effect is on health security, but there are also other economic and environmental impacts that affect the lives of the people in the region. Indonesia has been the worst hit and the immediate suffering and health impacts have pushed Indonesians to protest against forest fires. For the first time people in Pekanbaru have demonstrated against the government’s response to the haze. The smog is no longer just seen as an annual problem for Singapore and Malaysia; Indonesians are finally calling on their government to recognise the health security threat to them as well.

… Mely Caballero-Anthony is Associate Professor and Head of the RSIS’ Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS) and Goh Tian is Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. This is part of a new RSIS series on the regional haze issue.