US$35b? Indonesia Counts Costs of Haze

Asia News Network

11 October 2015

Early estimates by the Joko Widodo administration indicate that the haze crisis could set Indonesia back by up to 475 trillion rupiah (US$35 billion) – no chump change to a government already grappling with a sliding rupiah and sluggish growth.

However, observers warned that economic pains aside, the country’s global standing will also take a hit if it does not resolve the decades-old issue, caused by illegal forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

… Researchers Tiola Javadi and David Han from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) said in a report last week that the crisis, if prolonged, could strain relations, particularly between Indonesia and its closest Asean neighbours, Singapore and Malaysia.

… While the economic impact of the haze in 2013 – when air pollution hit record levels in Singapore – and this year has yet to be quantified, it is likely to be more significant, said Associate Professor Mely Caballero-Anthony, who heads the Centre for Non–Traditional Security Studies at RSIS, and Associate Research Fellow Goh Tian, also from RSIS.

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Last updated on 13/11/2015