PETALING JAYA: Asean must stop treating transboundary haze as an annual ritual and take stronger action to prevent the recurring crisis, said social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
He said more than two decades after the signing of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, the region was still trapped in the same cycle of fires, deteriorating air quality, health concerns and economic disruption.
“The recurring transboundary haze crisis in Southeast Asia is no longer something Asean can afford to treat as a seasonal inconvenience.
“It is a serious regional environmental, public health and economic problem, and the time has come for Asean to acknowledge that its collective response has not been effective enough,” he said in a statement on Monday (Aug 25).
The agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur on June 10, 2002, and came into force in 2003.
Lee said Asean had had more than 20 years to learn from the haze problem and had produced agreements, action plans, committees, meetings and declarations.
“What we now need is results,” he said.
He urged Asean leaders to convene an urgent high-level review of the transboundary haze agreement and establish a stronger, time-bound and enforceable regional action plan before the situation deteriorated further.
“We must stop treating haze as an annual Asean ritual.
“Haze is not merely a weather problem. It is a governance, environmental, public health and regional responsibility problem,” he said.
Lee said the continuing haze problem showed that Asean needed to move beyond declarations and reactive measures towards prevention, enforcement and permanent regional preparedness.
His call comes amid a warning from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre that strengthening El Niño conditions, below-normal rainfall and prevailing winds could increase the risk of hotspots and transboundary haze in southern Asean.
Lee said El Niño should not be used to explain away the recurring problem as it was a natural climate phenomenon.
“The real question is why we continue to allow human-caused forest and land fires to become a regional crisis whenever dry conditions occur,” he said.
He proposed several measures, including a review and strengthening of the Asean haze agreement, with clear and measurable targets to prevent fires, reduce hotspots and eliminate recurring sources of transboundary pollution.
There should also be stronger accountability for those responsible for open burning and illegal land clearing, including companies and individuals whose activities cause fires, he said.
“Where fires cross borders and cause damage to neighbouring countries, there must be mechanisms for investigation, evidence-sharing and enforcement,” he said.
Lee also called for a permanent regional haze response mechanism supported by real-time satellite monitoring, rapid sharing of hotspot information, joint firefighting capabilities and clearly defined responsibilities during serious haze episodes.
Asean countries should also establish joint prevention and early-warning systems before the dry season instead of waiting until air quality reaches dangerous levels, he said.
“The current climate forecasts give us advance warning. We must use that warning to act,” he said.
Greater cooperation was also needed in peatland and forest management, particularly in areas repeatedly affected by fires, he added.
Lee said Asean countries should also improve transparency by openly sharing information on hotspots, fire sources, companies operating in affected areas and enforcement action.
“Regional cooperation cannot work effectively if information is incomplete, delayed or withheld,” he said.
He said Malaysia and other affected countries should raise the issue at the highest Asean level, stressing that the matter was not about blaming any particular country.
“This is not about blaming one country. It is about protecting the health and well-being of more than 600 million people in Southeast Asia,” he said.
