Public concerns about transboundary haze: a comparison of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia

Tim Forsyth

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Public concerns about environmental problems create narrative structures that influence policy by allocating roles of blame, responsibility, and appropriate behavior. This paper presents an analysis of public concerns about transboundary haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia for crises experienced in 1997, 2005 and 2013. The source of the information is content analysis of 2231 articles from representative newspapers in each country. The study shows that newspaper reporting about haze has changed from a discussion of the potential health and economic impacts of fires resulting partly naturally from El Niño-induced droughts, toward an increasing vilification of Indonesia for not ratifying the 2002 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution; plus criticism of Singaporean and Malaysian companies investing in palm oil plantations, and ASEAN. Attention to climate change and potential biodiversity loss linked to haze, however, remains low. The paper argues that newspaper analysis of public concerns, despite political influences on the press, offers insights into how public criticism is voiced in these countries, and how perceived responsibility for action is changing.

Keywords: ASEAN; forest fires; haze; palm oil; public understandings of risk; Southeast Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2014-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env and nep-sea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published in Global Environmental Change, March, 2014, 25, pp. 76-86. ISSN: 0959-3780

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