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.