Indonesia
The 2015 haze situation was one of the worst on record, with the PSI in the 900s in some areas like Pekan Baru in Sumatra. In Singapore itself, the PSI hit a record high of 341.
PM.Haze, a has outlined 4 main reasons for the haze problem:
- Large-scale use of fire to clear land
- Deforestation
- Peat drainage
- Land conflict
(Since the focus of this blog is not about discussing the haze problem, I will put the link of the causes for the haze here http://pmhaze.org/the-haze/causes/causes-of-haze/)
Fighting haze in Indonesia. Source: CNN
Kuwait
I will present an example of environmental destruction in another Muslim country using the Kuwaiti oil spill. In 1991 during the Gulf War, Iraqi forces applied a scorched-earth tactive and caused damage to a total of 755 oil wells. 86% of these wells were either burning or gushing for 8 months. The burning oil lakes released large amounts of organic vapours into the atmosphere and potentially caused water pollution. More than 60% of agricultural areas in Kuwait here covered in black soot and oily mist.
Why do these things happen in these Muslim countries? Are there external forces which are causing the people to resort to environmentally destructive practices?