Haze impacts mainly into three primary elements in our ecosystem.

Health, agriculture and

biodiversity are being affected as the haze gives more negative concern compared to positive

effects. From Raffles Medical Group on 22 September 2014 reported that haze brings in particles

of dust into our lungs by two ways, the mouth and nose. Short–term impacts can induce asthma

attacks and light bronchitis. It also raises the susceptibility of respiratory diseases (Raffles, 2014).

Long-term exposures have been being interconnected with reduced lung function and the

development of chronic bronchitis and even premature death for babies inside the womb. Recent

analyses of forest fire haze events in five years showed an immediate increase of nineteen-percent

in respiratory mortality (Jaafar Z, 2014).

Particles of dust flew by the air during haze clearly reduces the penetration of sunlight onto the

Earth’s surface. This surely reduces the amount of total solar radiation towards photosynthesis of

plants as they did not receive much basic need (Hong, 2015). So, this leads to decrement of crop

productivity. Reduction in total solar radiation can affect crop productivity. Forest Research

Institute of Malaysia found that two varieties of hybrid rice in Malaysia, MR151 and MR123,

experienced a 50% reduction in growth rate and abnormal after haze event in 1997. Malaysia crops

such as palm oil (Eleais guineensis) was one of the decreased percentage of productivity (Henson,

2001).

Moving into biodiversity, the major aspect of view in this study gets the most concern. Biodiversity

covers any living things whether floras or faunas, environmental elements such as temperature and

topologies. Biodiversity records of animals specifically orangutans in South East Asia had a drop

within five years lately do to haze. From the year 2012 to 2017, major concern from World Wildlife

Foundation (WWF) is, the population of an endangered species in South East Asia. Primates such
as orangutans, gibbons and monkeys decreased in number do to respiratory diseases and death

caused by haze effects.

Cases in Borneo, a territory shared by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia is the home of most of the

world’s orangutans. When the haze in 2015 occurred, the entire landmass of their homes are

blanketed by devastating smoke from the fires. It caused chaos to more than 20,000 orangutans.

Deadly concentration of carbon dioxide emitted by the combustion forces the orangutans to flee

their habitats. They become refugees in local backyards, farms, even the driveways. Indonesia’s

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) made an action to tranquilize the lost apes and

rehabilitate them during the outbreak when they are founded. “They get flu, nauseous and diarrhea,

they are prone to death in just within two weeks” (Friedmann, 2015). This move costs a fortune to

not just Indonesia but neighboring country like Malaysia and Thailand.

Bornean White-bearded Gibbons (Hylobatid albibarbis) attract their mates, defending their

territories, and communicates by singing (Huang, 2015). Haze made them asthmatic thus this

effects the populations and the reproduction rates of wildlife biodiversity in Borneo. Songs of the

tropical birds are less likely to be heard, flutters of the forest butterflies are less likely to be seen

due to haze (Hong, 2015). Pollinating agents such as honeybees (Apis florea and Apis

kochevnikovi) were fumigated by it and dies along they way. Amphibians such as frogs and

salamanders hard to locate their mates as they are blinded by the carbonaceous smog (Hong, 2015).

Plant saplings and seed also receive the drawback as haze does not only come with smoke but an

incinerating fire along the forest floor.

Haze does not impact just terrestrial biodiversity, it also brings hard times for marine life and

marine ecosystems. Marine coral reefs also take the impacts such as in Singapore, the red coral

reefs (Trapezia cymodoce) turned greyish and reported to be dead is just one week (Jaafar Z, 2014).
This phenomenon (coral bleaching) also worsen as Borneo experience El Nino throughout the haze

event in 2015.

Works Cited

Friedmann, M. (2015, November 4). Endangered Orangutan Species. (C. Malaysia, Interviewer)

Hong, J. (2015). The impacts of haze on South East's Wildlife. Indonesia: Mongabay Series.

Huang, N. (2015). Maybe monkeys too need N95 masks. Malaysia: The Straits Times.

Jaafar Z, L. T. (2014). Linking land, air and sea: Potential impacts of biomass and the effects of haze on

marine ecosystems of South East Asia. Malaysia: Global Change Biology.

Raffles, M. G. (2014). Haze and health effects. Singapore: RMG.