A fascinating article called “Indonesia Steps Up Audits of Companies Operating in Rain Forests”, catches my attention of the topic of business ethics.
The article indicates that Indonesia is lacking of licensing on companies that are destroying the natural habitat of animals or one of the largest rain forests in Asia, through burning down the trees. Therefore, an agency was hired to audit those companies, and 3 out of 18 of them was eliminated from the market.
(Source of photo: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/8/20/1282289665138/Eyewitness-Deforestation–004.jpg)
Thinking on the surface, Indonesian government has put in lots of work in protecting the environment as it realizes the problem of deforestation can be consequential, for example, giving more audit check-up, continuing the moratorium on certain companies that are harmful to the forest, putting companies on trial… However, Indonesia is known as one of the most corrupted countries, and corruption cannot be stopped on spot. Therefore, all of the hard work of the Indonesian government can be mere to cure the problem of excessive deforestation.
Furthermore, the air pollution made, CO2, can be devastating to human health. In a year, there are more than millions people pass away because of the severe air pollution globally, and one of the contributors is Indonesia deforestation. In this sense, healthcare needs to be a bigger priority for government, which there is an opportunity cost for government funds.
(Source of photo: http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2013/06/21/100833511-Singapore%20haze%202.530×298.jpg?v=1371795188)
For me, I used to live in Singapore, and it is well-known due to its haze from Indonesia. Not only it damages human health, but also the cities’ appearance. Tourism can be negatively influenced, and another factor is the happiness index can be in a declining slope. When people are unmotivated and unhappy with work, the trend of slower economies will be led. However, there are lots of assumption made, and these factors that were discussed can only be a side-reference.
In this case, Indonesian agricultures really need to think in a flip-side when they are burning trees down. In the meantime, I understood that it really helps to enhance the quality of soil when the trees are burnt.
Bibliography:
Wulandari, Fitri, and Neil Chatterjee. “Indonesia Steps Up Audits of Companies Operating in Rain Forests.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-27/indonesia-steps-up-audits-of-companies-operating-in-rain-forests.html>.