The new Prince Claus Chair holder, Professor Helena Varkkey will give her inaugural lecture on transboundary, climate-induced haze governance in Southeast Asia
- Professor
- Date
- Tuesday 19 May 2026, 16:00 - 17:00
- Type
- Inaugural lecture
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- Aula B
- Location
- International Institute of Social Studies
During the dry season, the absence of water increases the risk of fire in the peatlands of Southeast Asia. These fires produce a thick smoke known as 'haze,' which can only be extinguished by massive amounts of water from above – rain.
Without rain, the haze drifts across borders, chasing away blue skies and replacing them with toxic air pollution. In her inaugural lecture, Professor Varkkey will explore the politics and socio-economics behind the elusive, haze-free blue skies of Southeast Asia.
About Helena Varkkey
Helena Varkkey is an Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at the Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya. Her areas of expertise include transboundary haze governance in Southeast Asia and global palm oil politics.
She is a part of the project Water, Securitization Anxieties and Border Imaginaries (WASABI). The project aims to compare the lived experiences and imaginaries of those crossing and living in securitized water borders in Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean region, Central America, Eastern Mediterranean, the Southern Caucasus and the Sulu Sea in the Philippines.
Professor Varkkey has almost two decades of experience in qualitative research, including conducting fieldwork, interviews, and focus groups among various government and non-government stakeholders, and has built up extensive research networks in countries across ASEAN.
She has edited and produced reports for the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, UNICEF and the ASEAN Secretariat.
- More information
The Prince Claus Chair in Equity and Development was established by Utrecht University and the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2003, and rotates annually between the two institutions.
The aim of the chair is to boost the career of outstanding young researchers from developing countries and to stimulate knowledge sharing. The universities wish to use the chair to advance research and education in the field of equity and development in accordance with the views and insights of Prince Claus.
- Related content
- Related links
- Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity