Decisive action needed to tackle haze problem

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SOUTHEAST Asia seems unable to shake off an atmospheric blight that usually appears in the region during the re-planting season towards the second half of the year.

The recurring problem, known euphemistically as the haze, brings into focus the apparent ineffectiveness of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)  to collectively tackle widespread cross-border air pollution, caused by uncontrolled open burning to clear land for plantation schemes in some member countries.

In the clearing process, forest fires burning, especially in peat soil, precipitates an atmospheric phenomenon that produces dust, smoke and other dry particles to obscure clarity of the sky.

What follow are not only a drastic drop in visibility but also serious respiratory ailments such as asthma, sore throats and breathing difficulties that disrupt everyday life  not forgetting the flight of tourist dollars from the shores of the affected countries.

Since 1991, the haze has been an acute problem in this part of the world. In response, Asean enacted a Regional Haze Action Plan in 1997, and signed the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002.

Under the Agreement, the Asean secretariat will host a co-ordination and support unit to monitor the atmospheric conditions and sound the alarm when

there are signs pointing to a likely return of the haze.

Despite such vigilance, haze-induced pollution has remained as much a headache in the region today as in the past. Asean seems helpless to douse the problem with any lasting effect.

Just a fortnight ago, the grouping found occasion to acknowledge substantial progress had been made in alleviating cross-border air pollution but no sooner  had such a development been hailed as a big step forward in containing the haze than Singapore and part of Malaysia were blanketed with smog from forest fires in Indonesia.

Under the 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, member nations are obliged to fight fires that could be caused by open burning or slash-and-burn practices to clear massive tracts of land for agricultural purposes. Only Indonesia has yet to ratify the treaty.

Thus, it’s no surprise that despite all the preventive mechanisms, toxic air is continuing to waft from Indonesia, especially Sumatra, across national borders to pollute the atmosphere with nothing much the affected neighbouring countries can do about it.

What this shows is that within both individual Asean nations and the grouping itself, there is a lack of combined political will to enforce domestic laws and regional pact on haze prevention.

The most recent fires in Sumatra last month triggered health alerts in Singapore and part of Malaysia, especially in Johor and Muar, indicating clearly that the underlying causes of the haze have not been reduced, let alone eradicated.

Over 170 hotspots had been detected by satellite in the Riau province of Sumatra last week — nearly half at pulp-wood concessions while the rest at oil palm plantations, forests and wasteland, as claimed by environmentalists.

Understandably, different interest groups place the hotspots at different locations with some pointing the finger at palm oil plantations and others arguing such plantations are so well guarded that getting in to set fire to the land undetected is near impossible.

Generally, people are not against the palm oil industry as it would be immoral to deprive millions of earning a living from the industry. It would be fair to say unsustainable cultivation practices give the industry a bad name.

While air pollution can also be caused by emissions from vehicles and industries, their effects are cumulative, insidious and less visible, unlike the haze that swarms across the sky like a gaseous tsunami with instantaneous effects.

Agents of pollution, in whatever form, need to be tackled with the urgency they warrant in the interests of national health. More specifically, decisive action is needed to deal with the longstanding haze problem.

Asean first broached the issue almost 10 years ago but transboundary air contamination, sparked by indiscriminate open burning, has not gone away.

It’s time the regional bloc moves past mere lip service and shows more spine in dealing with the situation. There is now a need to shift from talk to action.