ASEAN vows to implement anti-haze agreement

ASEAN vows to implement anti-haze agreement

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Southeast Asian nations agreed on Tuesday to help each other prepare for the implementation of a regional anti-pollution agreement hailed as a major environmental breakthrough.

Environment ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to increase the capacity of each state to ratify the treaty on "transboundary haze pollution".

The agreement, signed on Monday, binds members to cooperate in preventing haze by controlling fires, establishing early warning systems, exchanging information and technology and providing mutual assistance.

"The ministers agreed to work toward ratifying (the agreement) to ensure that regional efforts are further enhanced through legal mechanisms provided for in the agreement," the ministers said in a joint press statement after a meeting in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian environment minister Law Hieng Ding said although all member countries were "very anxious" to implement the agreement, lack of manpower and financial capacity hindered the ratification process.

The agreement provides for the establishment of an ASEAN Coordinating Center for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control and a supporting ASEAN fund, details of which have yet to be determined.

The pact can only be enforced 60 days after being ratified by six eligible signatories with no time frame or penalties for the failure to adhere to the terms.

Indonesian deputy to the environmental conservation minister, Liana Bratasida, told AFP the agreement would allow less capable countries to receive aid from other member countries as well as from international donors.

"We don't have the human resources but we are in the process of enhancing and strengthening, regarding cross boundary haze pollution ... this cooperation will help us take action," she said on the sidelines of the meeting.

Liana said Jakarta had sufficient laws to punish plantation owners carrying out open burning for land clearing but lacked the capacity to enforce the laws effectively.

"Yes, we have enough laws, but we have a need still to enforce them," she said.