Commentary: Regional haze casts a pall on ASEAN\u2019s influence<\/p>\n
ASEAN\u2019s credibility will ultimately depend on whether it can\ntranslate regional commitments into practical results, says an ISEAS \u2013\nYusof Ishak Institute fellow.<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: In recent weeks, a thick shroud of smoke has enveloped\nsome Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states again.\nWhile the bloc has instituted some policies to mitigate its effects,\nenforcement and making them work effectively is critical.<\/p>\n
Early this month, haze from forest and peatland fires in Indonesia\ndrifted as far as the Southern Philippines. Closer to the source,\nvisibility at Supadio Airport in Pontianak fell to about 100m,\npreventing the aircraft carrying Indonesia\u2019s forestry minister from\nlanding.<\/p>\n
Since August, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre has\nactivated its highest alert level, Level 3, after detecting hotspots\nacross Sumatra and Kalimantan. Malaysia has asked Indonesia for\npermission to conduct cloud seeding over Indonesian territory. Singapore\nhas also issued daily haze advisories to help the public plan activities\nand events.<\/p>\n
The pattern is familiar. For nearly three decades, ASEAN has built\nmechanisms to prevent, monitor and respond to haze, yet the problem\ncontinues to occur. ASEAN introduced the Regional Haze Action Plan in\n1997, focusing on prevention, mitigation and monitoring.<\/p>\n
In 2002, it adopted the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze\nPollution (AATHP), the region\u2019s first legally binding agreement\ndedicated to the issue.<\/p>\n
Since then, ASEAN has built a relatively comprehensive system for\nhaze cooperation. The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC)\nmonitors hotspots, weather conditions and smoke movement, while the\nAATHP provides a framework for joint responses and assistance when fires\nescalate.<\/p>\n
A REVEALING TEST OF ASEAN CREDIBILITY<\/p>\n
The recurrence of smoke haze is an especially revealing test of ASEAN\ncredibility because, unlike many of ASEAN\u2019s other transboundary\nchallenges, it is predominantly an intra-ASEAN problem.<\/p>\n
The countries where the fires start and the countries that breathe\nthe smoke are, with few exceptions, the same member states. This\ndistinguishes haze from a challenge like water security in the Mekong\nRiver. The river is shared by several ASEAN countries but flows from\nChina, which is not an ASEAN member.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s dam-building and water management decisions have major\nimplications for downstream communities and ecosystems, limiting ASEAN\u2019s\ninfluence over some of the river\u2019s most consequential decisions.<\/p>\n
If haze, unlike the Mekong, is a problem ASEAN\u2019s own members largely\ncause and largely suffer, it raises an obvious question: Why has the\nregion struggled to address it through its own institutions?<\/p>\n
The challenge lies in a basic tension at the heart of ASEAN\ncooperation. Haze crosses borders, but individual member countries are\nlargely responsible for its occurrence.<\/p>\n
The fires are largely concentrated mainly in Indonesia, where land\nuse, plantation licensing, forest management and law enforcement are\nprimarily domestic matters. ASEAN can share information, coordinate\nresponses and provide assistance, but it has limited authority to direct\nor influence how a member state manages its own territory.<\/p>\n
This reflects ASEAN\u2019s long-standing principle of non-interference,\nwhich is a double-edged sword: The principle has helped sustain\ncooperation among countries with different political systems, but which\nalso restricts how far ASEAN can go in addressing a problem whose\neffects are shared across borders.<\/p>\n
ATTRIBUTION FOR LIABILITY<\/p>\n
A second related constraint is attribution for liability. ASEAN has\nconsiderable technical capacity to detect hotspots and track the\nmovement of smoke haze, but identifying the source of it is not the same\nas establishing legal responsibility.<\/p>\n
Determining who caused a fire requires land concession data,\ninvestigation and evidence that can support enforcement. These functions\nremain largely within national jurisdictions. In essence, ASEAN has far\nless capacity to determine who should be held responsible and face the\nconsequences.<\/p>\n
Singapore has sought to close this gap through its Transboundary Haze\nPollution Act, which allows action against entities whose conduct\noutside Singapore causes or contributes to haze pollution in Singapore.\nThe law tilts towards prevention and deterrence.<\/p>\n
During the severe 2015 haze, Singapore\u2019s National Environment Agency\nused the Act, issuing preventive measure notices and information\nrequests to several regional agribusiness and pulp-and-paper\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
The Act demonstrates the seriousness of the problem, but also\nillustrates the limits of relying on national measures to address a\nregional one: Even where a country has legal powers to act, effective\nenforcement depends on access to information, cooperation from the\nsource country and sufficient evidence to establish responsibility.<\/p>\n
Corporate accountability highlights the same problem. Large\nplantation companies operate across large areas of forest and peatland,\nbut a fire within or near a concession does not necessarily make them\ndirectly accountable.<\/p>\n
Holding a company responsible requires transparent concession maps,\nreliable fire monitoring tied to specific land parcels, credible\ninvestigation and enforcement capable of following the evidence to a\ncorporate actor rather than a smallholder. These pertain to national\nfunctions, land registries, investigative agencies, courts and local\nsecurity enforcement that ASEAN has no authority to build or\ncommand.<\/p>\n
ASEAN can facilitate regional information-sharing, but the decisive\nsteps of investigation, prosecution and enforcement are the prerogatives\nof member states and remain outside the bloc\u2019s direct control.<\/p>\n
ASEAN CANNOT SUBSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS<\/p>\n
Forest and peatland fires will remain difficult to prevent,\nparticularly as climate change brings longer and drier periods. But\nclimate change should not become a scapegoat.<\/p>\n
Human activities and<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/commentary-regional-haze-casts-a-pall-on-aseans-influence-1789858222", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }