Vegetation Fires And Pollution In Asia

Vegetation fires are prevalent in several regions of the world, including South/ Southeast Asia (S/SEA). Fire occurrence and spread are influenced by fuel type, topography, climate, weather, and lightning, among others. In S/SEA, human-initiated fires are responsible for most of the incidents in addition to natural factors. Through biomass burning, vegetation fires can emit large quantities of greenhouse gases and air pollutants such as CO2, CO, NOx, CH4, non-methane hydrocarbons, and other chemical species, including aerosols that can affect air quality and health at both local and regional scales. Moreover, biomass burning pollutants can travel long distances and impact regional climate. Therefore, quantifying vegetation fires and their impacts is critical at different spatial scales. This book includes contributions from renowned researchers from the USA and South/ Southeast Asia on various fire-related topics. The contributions resulted from several international meetings and workshops organized in Asia as part of the South/ Southeast Asia Research Initiative (SARI) under the NASA Land-Cover/Land-Use Change Program. The book is divided into three sections, each containing multiple contributions: a) Mapping, Monitoring, and Modeling of Vegetation Fires, b) Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollution, and c) Air Pollution Modeling and Decision Support Systems. These sections are preceded by an introductory chapter by the editors that highlights the latest satellite-derived fire statistics and the current fire situation in S/SEA. This book will be a valuable resource for remote sensing scientists, geographers, ecologists, atmospheric, climate, environmental scientists, including policymakers, and all who wish to advance their knowledge on vegetation fires and emissions in South/Southeast Asia.

The increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters all around the world has caused severe socioeconomic impacts, especially in South and Southeast Asia. This region is particularly susceptible to vegetation fires, leading to biomass burning pollution with impacts on other countries through trans-boundary air pollution. Despite the growing body of information on biomass pollutants worldwide, only a modest amount of data from these regions are available. With fires and biomass burning identified as a vital issue in South/Southeast Asia, this two-volume set was created to meet community research and application needs. To better serve the atmospheric, environmental, and remote sensing communities, and to address air quality, climate, and the human health impacts of greenhouse gases and aerosols from biomass burning, this set brings together the collective achievements of experts in these regions and the state-of-the-art technologies and spatial analyses to model and monitor biomass burning events and their impacts. This first volume covers various topics on fire, biomass burning, mapping and monitoring while the second volume highlights the impact of biomass burning on the biosphere and reflects extensive research by interdisciplinary teams of experts. This set will serve as a valuable resource for remote sensing scientist, geographers, ecologists, atmospheric scientists, environmental scientists, and all who wish to advance their knowledge on fires, biomass burning, and biomass burning pollution in South/Southeast Asia Specific Features: Unique in its discussion of the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. Explains how remote sensing and geospatial technologies help the mapping and monitoring of biomass burning events and their impacts. Focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. Addresses the pressing issues of environmental pollution that are rampant in South and Southeast Asia. Includes contributions from global experts currently working on biomass burning projects in the US, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe.

Unique in its discussion of the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. Explains the latest tools and techniques, in particular, the use of Satellite Remote Sensing and Geospatial technologies for fire mapping, monitoring, and Land Cover/Land Use. Focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. Addresses the pressing issues of environmental pollution that are rampant in South and Southeast Asia. Includes contributions from global experts actually working on biomass burning projects in the US, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe.

The fires and resulting air pollution which afflicted Southeast Asia in 1997 and 1998 were a major environmental disaster affecting the livelihood and health of the people of the region, destroying forest and wildlife resources, releasing greenhouse gases and having serious implications for the rich biodiversity of the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Individual chapters have been contributed by international experts and cover a range of issues. The relation of the El Niño effect to droughts and fires is discussed and the history of fires in the region is outlined. Although the fires were associated with long periods of drought, in most cases they had human causes, and the land and forest management policies responsible for them are also identified. Another chapter describes the important role remote sensing played in monitoring and locating the fires and haze. Other contributions are concerned with the chemistry of haze, the long-range transport of pollutants and their modelling, the effects on forest ecosystems, and the implications for global climate change. Health impacts of the air pollution are discussed and the costs in economic terms are analysed. The inability of the Indonesian government to control the fires, the public responses to pollution problems and efforts at international co-operation are also discussed, as is the portrayal of the issues in the media.

Volume 1 of a two volume set, this book is a self-contained, state-of-the-art analysis of remote sensing, ground-based, and spatial techniques used for characterizing biomass burning events and pollution. It is a collective achievement of renowned scientists working throughout South and Southeast Asia. They discuss the complexity of vegetation patterns, biomass characteristics, fire distribution, drivers of fires, and several examples of the use of novel satellite algorithms for mapping and monitoring biomass burning events. The book is highly interdisciplinary and integrates earth science and environmental science including ecology, fire science, spatial geography, remote sensing, and geospatial technologies. Unique in its discussion of the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. Explains how remote sensing and geospatial technologies help the mapping and monitoring of biomass burning events and their impacts. Focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. Addresses the pressing issues of environmental pollution that are rampant in South and Southeast Asia. Includes contributions from global experts actually working on biomass burning projects in the US, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe. This book will serve as a valuable source of information for remote sensing scientists, geographers, ecologists, atmospheric scientists, environmental scientists, and all who wish to advance their knowledge on fires and biomass burning in South/Southeast Asia.

From September to November of 1997, raging fires in Indonesia pumped enough smoke into the air to blanket the entire region in haze, reaching as far north as southern Thailand and the Philippines, with Malaysia and Singapore being particularly affected. This book conservatively assesses the damage at US $4.5 billion, more than the Exxon Valdez oil spill and India's Bhopal chemical spill combined. It looks at the causes of the fires, the physical damages that resulted, and their effects on heath, industrial production, and tourism, among others.

This publication, a joint effort of ADB and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), brings together the current knowledge about land and forest fires, examines their causes and impacts with particular reference to Southeast Asia, and suggests what could happen in the future.

This edited volume sheds new light on the impact of rapid Land Use/Cover Changes (LU/CC) on greenhouse gases (GHG’s) and aerosol emissions in South and Southeast Asia. Several countries in South/Southeast Asia have the highest population growth rates in the world, which is the main cause for LU/CC. Conversion of dense forests to agricultural areas and then to residential and urban areas is most commonly observed in South/Southeast Asian countries with a significant release of GHG’s and aerosols. The book showcases several case studies on the use of remote sensing and geospatial technologies to quantify biomass burning and air pollution impacts, aerosol pollution, LU/CC, and impacts on ecosystem services. The book also includes articles on regional initiatives in research, capacity building, and training. The authors of this book are international experts in the field, and their contributions highlight significant drivers and impacts of air pollution in South/Southeast Asia. Readers will discover the latest tools and techniques, in particular, the use of satellite remote sensing and geospatial technologies for quantifying GHG’s, aerosols and pollution episodes in this region.