Asean must move beyond its yearly cycle of discussions and take stronger, more concrete action to prevent transboundary haze from repeatedly becoming a regional crisis, social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said.
He said Southeast Asia had continued to face forest fires, worsening air quality, health risks and economic disruption more than 20 years after the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was signed.
“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 the following year. Lee noted that Asean had since introduced various agreements, action plans, committees, meetings and declarations, but said tangible results were now needed.
He urged Asean leaders to hold an urgent high-level review of the agreement and introduce a stronger, time-bound and enforceable regional action plan before the haze situation worsens.
“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’s call comes as the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre warned that strengthening El Niño conditions, below-normal rainfall and prevailing winds could raise the risk of hotspots and transboundary haze across southern Asean.
He said El Niño should not become an excuse for the recurring haze, pointing out that it was a natural climate phenomenon while many fires were caused by human activities.
“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.
Among the measures proposed by Lee were strengthening the Asean haze agreement with measurable targets aimed at preventing fires, reducing hotspots and tackling repeated sources of transboundary pollution.
He also called for greater accountability against individuals and companies involved in open burning and illegal land clearing, including mechanisms for cross-border investigation, evidence-sharing and enforcement when fires affect neighbouring countries.
A permanent regional haze response system should also be established, supported by real-time satellite monitoring, rapid hotspot information sharing and joint firefighting capabilities, he said.
Lee said Asean countries should strengthen early-warning and prevention efforts before the dry season instead of waiting for air quality to deteriorate to dangerous levels.
“The current climate forecasts give us advance warning. We must use that warning to act,” he said.
He also urged stronger cooperation in peatland and forest management, particularly in areas repeatedly affected by fires, while calling for greater transparency over hotspots, fire sources, companies operating in affected areas and enforcement measures.
“Regional cooperation cannot work effectively if information is incomplete, delayed or withheld,” he said.
Lee stressed that Malaysia and other affected countries should elevate the issue at the highest Asean level, adding that the focus should be on protecting the region rather than assigning blame.
“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.
