Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution

Transboundary haze pollution is an almost annual occurrence in Southeast Asia. Haze originates from peat and forest fires mostly in Indonesia, with Malaysia and Singapore suffering the worst of its effects. Most of these fires are manmade, and linked to land clearing activities of local and foreign...

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Main Author: Varkkey, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kluwer (now part of Springer) 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/8409/1/POST_PRINT_inea_2013.pdf
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author Varkkey, H.
author_facet Varkkey, H.
author_sort Varkkey, H.
collection UM
description Transboundary haze pollution is an almost annual occurrence in Southeast Asia. Haze originates from peat and forest fires mostly in Indonesia, with Malaysia and Singapore suffering the worst of its effects. Most of these fires are manmade, and linked to land clearing activities of local and foreign commercial oil palm plantations. The regional nature of the haze has resulted in a concentration of haze mitigation activities at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) level. However these initiatives continually fail to effectively mitigate haze. This article argues that this is due to the influence of patronage politics in the sector. This is linked to the ASEAN style of regional engagement, which prioritizes the maintenance of national sovereignty. States are compelled to act in their national interests, as opposed to the collective regional interests. The economic importance of the oil palm sector to the states involved, coupled with the political importance of the clients populating this sector to elite patrons in the governments, meant that the maintenance of the status quo, where clients could continue to clear land using fire, was of crucial national interest. Therefore, the ASEAN style of regional engagement has enabled political elites to shape ASEAN initiatives to preserve the interests of their clients, while the public continue to suffer the haze. This article demonstrates this through a close analysis of the negotiations, outcomes and the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, with a special focus on Indonesia’s decision to withhold ratification of the treaty.
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spelling um.eprints-84092013-09-27T02:46:54Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/8409/ Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution Varkkey, H. JZ International relations Transboundary haze pollution is an almost annual occurrence in Southeast Asia. Haze originates from peat and forest fires mostly in Indonesia, with Malaysia and Singapore suffering the worst of its effects. Most of these fires are manmade, and linked to land clearing activities of local and foreign commercial oil palm plantations. The regional nature of the haze has resulted in a concentration of haze mitigation activities at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) level. However these initiatives continually fail to effectively mitigate haze. This article argues that this is due to the influence of patronage politics in the sector. This is linked to the ASEAN style of regional engagement, which prioritizes the maintenance of national sovereignty. States are compelled to act in their national interests, as opposed to the collective regional interests. The economic importance of the oil palm sector to the states involved, coupled with the political importance of the clients populating this sector to elite patrons in the governments, meant that the maintenance of the status quo, where clients could continue to clear land using fire, was of crucial national interest. Therefore, the ASEAN style of regional engagement has enabled political elites to shape ASEAN initiatives to preserve the interests of their clients, while the public continue to suffer the haze. This article demonstrates this through a close analysis of the negotiations, outcomes and the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, with a special focus on Indonesia’s decision to withhold ratification of the treaty. Kluwer (now part of Springer) 2012 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.um.edu.my/8409/1/POST_PRINT_inea_2013.pdf Varkkey, H. (2012) Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-013-9217-2 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-013-9217-2>. http://www.springer.com/law/environmental/journal/10784 10.1007/s10784-013-9217-2
spellingShingle JZ International relations
Varkkey, H.
Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution
title Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution
title_full Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution
title_fullStr Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution
title_full_unstemmed Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution
title_short Regional cooperation, patronage, and the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution
title_sort regional cooperation patronage and the asean agreement on transboundary haze pollution
topic JZ International relations
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/8409/1/POST_PRINT_inea_2013.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT varkkeyh regionalcooperationpatronageandtheaseanagreementontransboundaryhazepollution