The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Patronage (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780815355113)

Despite the efforts of Southeast Asian governments and of ASEAN, transboundary haze continues to be a major environmental problem in Southeast Asia. This book demonstrates that the issue is complex, and explains why efforts to solve the problem in purely political terms are ineffective, and likely to continue to be ineffective. The book shows how state-led, state-incentivised agribusiness development lies at the heart of the problem, leading to a large rise in palm oil production, with extensive clearing of forests by burning, and the resulting haze. The author concludes by discussing the huge difficulties involved in overturning the system of 'patronage politics'.