Smoke haze due to vegetation and peatland fires in Southeast Asia is a serious public health concern. Several approaches have been applied in previous studies; however, the concepts and interpretations of these approaches are poorly understood. In this scoping review, we addressed issues related to the application of epidemiology (EPI), health burden estimation (HBE), and health risk assessment (HRA) approaches, and discussed the interpretation of findings, and current research gaps. Most studies reported an air quality index exceeding the ‘unhealthy’ level, especially during smoke haze periods. Although smoke haze is a regional issue in Southeast Asia, studies on its related health effects have only been reported from several countries in the region. Each approach revealed increased health effects in a distinct manner: EPI studies reported excess mortality and morbidity during smoke haze compared to non-smoke haze periods; HBE studies estimated approximately 100,000 deaths attributable to smoke haze in the entire Southeast Asia considering all-cause mortality and all age groups, which ranged from 1,064–260,000 for specified mortality cause, age group, study area, and study period; HRA studies quantified potential lifetime cancer and non-cancer risks due to exposure to smoke-related chemicals. Currently, there is a lack of interconnection between these three approaches. The EPI approach requires extensive effort to investigate lifetime health effects, whereas the HRA approach needs to clarify the assumptions in exposure assessments to estimate lifetime health risks. The HBE approach allows the presentation of health impact in different scenarios, however, the risk functions used are derived from EPI studies from other regions. Two recent studies applied a combination of the EPI and HBE approaches to address uncertainty issues due to the selection of risk functions. In conclusion, all approaches revealed potential health risks due to smoke haze. Nonetheless, future studies should consider comparable exposure assessments to allow the integration of the three approaches.

This study was conducted to identify the fire weather conditions needed to assess future peatland fires under climate change. Recent peatland fires in Indonesia have resulted in globally significant environmental impacts. Nevertheless, diurnal fire weather in the peatlands has not been clarified. The objective of this study was to determine the fire weather conditions needed to assess future peatland fires under climate change. An analysis of fire weather using diurnal weather data during the most active fire period in 2015 showed a strong wind speed of 35.7 km h⁻¹ at 3 p.m. that continued to blow for about two weeks, suggesting that peatland fires in 2015 became very active under these very strong wind conditions. The temperature increase rate (ΔT), the RH decrease rate (ΔRH), and the wind speed increase rate (ΔWS) during morning hours from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. were 2.3 °C h⁻¹, −10.3% h⁻¹, and 5.2 (km h⁻¹) h⁻¹ respectively. These weather parameters will be used to predict occurrences of active fires. The results of this report may help to predict fire activity under high temperatures in the future based on predictions of global warming made by other researchers. The rapid air temperature increase rate from morning will be useful for fire forecast in Papua.

Peatlands, as a type of ecosystem, are widely accepted to contribute to biodiversity, climate regulation, and human well-being. In comparison, it is reported that mismanagement of peatlands has resulted in a decline in environmental quality. To overcome this obstacle, the government should continue to investigate various cultivating strategies that allow for rapid propagation in order to accomplish the peatland restoration goal as efficiently as possible. However, due to the involvement in land restoration operations that initially met with little support from peatland farmers, their socioeconomic situation warranted further investigation. Therefore, this study examined the socioeconomic values associated with agricultural operations. This study employed a qualitative descriptive method and was conducted in Tumbang Nusa Village, Jabiren Raya Regency, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, a region prone to peatland fires. The data were collected via interviews with 45 key informants. Land ownership, plant species, farmer motivations, farmer income, the value of forests to peatland farmers, and their understanding of peatlands and management were all collected. The findings indicate that successful peatland cultivation and management have benefited the farmer community. Land tenure is divided into two categories for peatland farmers: those derived from a 2-hectare transmigration quota and those acquired through a sale process. They, in general, have a firm grasp on peatlands and how to manage them, despite past failures due to ineffective techniques. They grow both short- and long-term plants, with the majority motivated by a desire to increase income from peatland cultivation and management. They earn between USD 2,277 and USD 7,286.4 per year from agricultural and non-agricultural products, placing them in the category of high-income individuals. While farmers from Java and indigenous people manage peatlands differently, they share a common goal: preventing peatland fires so they can continue to reap the economic benefits of land management through farming. Finally, they believe that the forest is necessary for survival, believing that peatland forests must be protected in order to survive. However, this study demonstrates that they continue to require guidance and assistance with sustainable peatland management that takes into account the socioeconomic functions of peatlands, strikes a balance between environmental protection and local community development, and employs cutting-edge technologies. Finally, the implications of the study are discussed, along with several recommendations for future research.

Fires in Indonesia. About thirty percent of the total fires are spread in Central Kalimantan Province. Symptoms of climate change in the form of increasingly frequent weather and extreme climate phenomena support the severity of forest and land fires which results in increased release of air pollution gases. In 2015, the peak fire months had emitted a high concentration of air pollutant gasses and causes hazardous air pollution. This study aims to investigate the latest severe fire occurrence and haze conditions in Central Kalimantan. Hotspot data was from 2006 to 2017, visibility data were from four times of El Niño event, Particle Matter Size 10 (PM 10) data and Pollution Standard Index (PSI) was from very strong El Niño in 2015 comparison to La Niña in 2016/2017. The results showed that the top incidents occurred not only very strong in 2015 but also weak El Niño in 2006. The most of dense hotspots density in the last twelve years (> 50% of fires in the area) found in peatlands in Pulang Pisau, Palangka Raya and Kapuas. Palangka Raya's case, dangerous of APSI with PM10 concentrations of more than 500 µg m-3 occurred for 2 (two) months, from the end of August to the early of November 2015. The maximum peak concentration of PM10 is as high as 3000 μg m-3, which is higher than other fire years. Based on the data obtained, the haze was blanketed Palangka Raya was getting thicker at the end of October. As a result, visibility is decreasingly limited, only around 200 to 900 m during the peak season and air pollution-related-peat fire. Thus, this severe condition could rose multiple effects, which will exacerbate climate change, environmental sustainability and the livelihoods of thousands of peoples.