Asean Welcomes Indonesia's Seriousness To Ratify Haze Agreement

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Asean has welcomed Indonesia's commitment and seriousness to combat the prolonged haze situation, by agreeing to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Its secretary-general, Le Luong Minh, said the move showed the Indonesian Government was ready to mobilise available resources to put out fires and eradicate the haze problem. In June, forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra left neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia choking on the worst haze in more than a decade. "This is the spirit of cooperation commended, and with this success, we are able to achieve our agreements," he said. Le was speaking to reporters after the joint press conference here on the final day of a three-day task force meeting to seek a solution to the haze problem. Malaysia hosted the 15th Meeting of the Technical Working Group and Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Environment ministers from Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand gathered for the meeting, which began on Monday. Earlier, Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said the country hoped to ratify the regional treaty by year-end or early 2014 to fight smog from forest fires which brought misery to millions in the region. Indonesia is the only member of Asean that has yet to ratify the bloc's Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution brokered in 2002. Jakarta has sought parliament approval to ratify a 2002 pact on haze pollution which has been signed by all its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But the proposal was rejected in 2008. Le also urged for continued vigilance on the possibility of a recurrence of the haze and ways to improve the system of monitoring. "Countries concerned should be ready to train and educate the authorities and relevant bodies to prevent the haze situation," he noted. On concession maps, the Asean secretary-general said it was developed by Singapore and the decision to disclose the map publicly, would be decided in October's Asean Leaders' Summit in Brunei Darussalam. Meanwhile, Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan hoped Indonesia would enforce its own laws to make a big difference, to mitigate forest burning activities in Riau and Jambi. -- BERNAMA