ASEAN foreign ministers urged to combat haze problem, Malaysia

The Foreign Ministers are meeting in Kuala Lumpur this week.

Parts of Malaysia have been facing serious haze problems over the past two weeks. Visibility in Penang is very bad and SAM has begun receiving complaints from the general public about health problems such throat irritations, coughs and eye irritations. It is possible to smell the haze in the air.

The haze episodes have been recurrent and are affecting the health of both Malaysians and Indonesians. Last year, Malaysia suffered the worst haze crisis since 1997 with news reports attributing at least seven deaths to the haze in Selangor, Malaysia. Schools and offices were forced to close. The 1997 haze, which plagued the region for several weeks, was estimated to cost almost US10 billion in economic losses. This did not include losses attributed to ill health.

The primary source of the haze crisis has been attributed to burning activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia. It is yet unclear as to who is responsible for these burning activities. However, the Indonesian forestry law of 1999 allows the use of fires to clear land by issung permits which are easily obtainable.

SAM deeply regrets that a strong group like ASEAN is unable to solve such a longstanding and obvious problem among its members. Despite the numerous action plans, agreements, detailed guidelines, and countless meetings involving expert groups and Ministers at the ASEAN level, no political will or cooperation mechanisms appear to be in place to effectively implement the Haze Agreement and other regional plans.

As is well-known, the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution came into force in November 2003 and has been ratified by seven countries since July 2005: Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Indonesia however, has not ratified the agreement although it is the prime source of the pollution.

The most urgent measures to be taken are:

• Ratification of the Haze Agreement by Indonesia.
• Effective cooperation of the governments to implement the Haze Agreement, as well as plans and guidelines to comprehensively combat the crisis and prevent a recurrence.
• The strengthening of the ASEAN Haze Agreement with a provision for effective enforcement as well as a liability clause to give effective ‘bite' to the Agreement.
• The provision of support and technical assistance to the Indonesian Government to effectively put an end to the sources of the current haze crisis.
• The immediate banning of open burning in Indonesia, especially in the haze affected areas.
• Public disclosure and information as to who is responsible for open burning and the resulting haze and what actions will be taken against them.

The haze crisis is definitely the most important environmental issue affecting the region today. SAM calls for urgent action.

for more information: See: www.foe-malaysia.org.my