KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia said yesterday it hoped to ratify a regional treaty by early next year to fight smog from forest fires that brings misery to millions, but an activist said tougher steps are needed.
“We hope we can ratify the agreement by the end of the year or early next year,” the country’s Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya told reporters.
Earlier yesterday, Kambuaya and environment ministers from four other Asean countries, which together form the Southeast Asian bloc’s “haze committee”, met to discuss ways to prevent the Indonesian forest fires.
The blazes on Sumatra island, caused by the slash and burn method of land clearance for cultivation, left neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia choking in June on the worst haze in more than a decade. The air pollution scared off tourists, forced schools to close and caused a rise in respiratory illnesses.
Indonesia is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which has still not ratified its Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, brokered in 2002.
The treaty aims to stop cross-border smog from forest fires by requiring parties to prevent burning, monitor prevention efforts, exchange information and provide mutual help.
It also binds signatories to “respond promptly” to requests for information from countries hit by the smoke.
AFP
