Before and after the haze. All photos courtesy of Luke Mackin
We know our neighbors in Singapore and Malaysia are not too happy with Indonesia at the moment due to the clouds of hazardous haze coming from forest fires in Sumatra that are choking their cities and causing flights to be cancelled. But if it is having that effect on other countries, try to imagine how bad things are for the people living in Sumatra.
These photos, which come to us from Luke Mackin, who runs the Wild Sumatra eco-tourism company in the Kerinci region of Sumatra, which is known for the incredibly beauty contained in Kerinci Seblat National Park. As you can see from these photos, which were taken on September 7, the vibrant beauty of the area is being blotted out by the very same haze hitting our neighbor.
When we asked if we could share the photos, Mackin said, “I’d be happy to have you share it. The world (and those on Java) need to see what’s happening in Sumatra and Kalimantan, all due to greed and overconsumption. Did you know it’s estimated that 110,000 people in Southeast Asia die from this every year? Worse in El Nino years.”
He also wrote, “People need to know the true cost of cheap palm oil and paper products. In Jambi and Riau, besides the health issues, schools have been closed, many businesses shut and airports have cancelled almost all of their flights.”
The connection between the haze, forest fires, the Indonesian government and palm oil producers (many of which are Singapore and Malaysia-based companies) in Sumatra is a complex and, well, hazy issue. But it’s a huge problem which isn’t going away, which is why Coconuts TV went there last year to try and clear up the issue in our documentary, “Sumatra Burning: The Heart of Palm Oil.”
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