Page 4 - E-BOOK PULSE@FASS ISU NO.01/2023

LSE Saw Swee Hock Southe

Asia Centre Visiting Fellow

By Associate Professor Dr Helena Varkkey
The London School of Economics and Political Science environmental problems are socially constructed and what
Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (LSE SEAC) hosts this means for its potential solutions. One way of answering
researchers from the Southeast Asian region under their these questions is through discourse analysis:
Stipendiary Visiting Appointment Scheme, which provides understanding "who says what and for what purpose". In
funding for living expenses and flights for a period this context, we analyse how different "storylines"
between 6 weeks to 3 months. I was fortunate to have contribute to environmental policy-making and framing
been successful in my application to this scheme, which conflicts over environmental issues. Our project thus
allowed me to be based at the LSE SEAC in London from considers to what extent the emergence of the articulation
30 January to 10 March 2023. of the haze as a seasonal problem in recent decades has
shaped how political actors interpret and respond to the
During this time, I worked with two other LSE SEAC issue.
Fellows, Associate Professor Dr Thomas Smith from the
Department of Geography and Environment LSE and Dr Being based in the UK for some time enabled me to
Felicia Liu from the Department of Environment and engage with other institutions around the UK and Europe. I
Geography, University of York, on a project called "Seasons was invited by Associate Professor Dr Clara Portela to
of the Anthropocene: Politicisation of the Haze Season in deliver a lecture on "Transboundary Haze in Southeast
Southeast Asia". Asia: Causes, Effects, and Solutions" to students from the
Masters in International and European Studies Degree at
I have previously collaborated with both Dr Tom and Dr the University of Valencia, Spain, on 17 February 2023.
Felicia on several commentaries. This time, we worked
towards preparing our preliminary findings for a I met Dr Clara Portela, an expert on European Union
presentation to SEAC Associates and students on 8 March Sanctions, through a workshop at the Singapore
2023. We also produced a blog post on the project during Management University, where she was previously based,
and we have since collaborated mainly in
teaching and learning activities.

Following this, I was invited by AP Dr
Stephanie Evers, convenor of INTERPeat, to a
two-day INTERPeat Symposium at Liverpool
John Moores University. INTERPeat is a
multidisciplinary applied research group which
facilitates knowledge generation and sharing
to promote sustainable and wiser
management of peatland ecosystems globally.
I have previously collaborated with Dr
Stephane and other INTERPEAT members on a
journal article in Global Change Biology. On
AP Dr Thomas Smith, AP Dr Helena Varkkey and Dr Felicia Liu
the first day of the Symposium, 20 February 2023, I
this time, and aim to eventually publish this as a full delivered a talk on "Shifting Regulatory Regimes of
academic article. Our project explores the concept of Sustainable Palm Oil in Southeast Asia: Comparing Private
human-induced environmental change that gives rise to and Public SPOs". The workshop also included a field trip
new "seasons" distinct from natural seasons like the four to Little Woolden Moss to observe the restoration of a
seasons in temperate countries (winter, spring, summer, previous peat extraction site and Rindle Farm to see
and autumn) and the hot and rainy seasons in tropical paludiculture trials.
climates.
I then visited Leeds Trinity University, where I took part in a
Using the "haze season" as a case study, we aim to Roundtable on International Collaboration in
contribute to understanding how anthropogenic Interdisciplinary Research with three other colleagues

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