The war of fog: industry insists it's fighting Asian haze

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

PANGKALAN KERINCI, Indonesia (AFP) — As thick haze chokes Southeast Asia and drifts across the Pacific, the pulp and paper industry, blamed for failing to prevent the burning of vast swathes of Indonesian forest, says it's doing its best to fight the scourge. According to Greenpeace, forest clearing for acacia pulpwood and oil palm plantations is the leading cause of illegal fires and suffocating haze which has closed schools, disrupted air traffic and caused widespread breathing problems.

The annual illegal burn-off in Indonesia, which officials have been accused of doing little to stop, sees acrid smoke billow across the region, with Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand usually worst affected. This week, the haze had also spread 3,600 kilometres (2,250 miles) to...