Lesson for ASEAN

Raging forest fires in Indonesia, many set by plantation firms clearing land, have cast a pall of haze over much of peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

ASEAN's environment ministers have long paid lip service to the notion of regional cooperation. In January, the ministers gathered in Phuket and released a statement which "expressed their appreciation of Indonesia's efforts on the issue of haze pollution".

The haze has been occurring for years, so why wasn't action taken earlier? Because even within most ASEAN countries -- much less between them -- polluters are still not held accountable for their actions.

Environmental problems are allowed to fester until a crisis occurs. Only then do leaders muster the courage to bang some heads together and implement stopgap measures.

These delays make problems even more serious, increasing harm to people and the environment and raising the cost of finding a solution.

In this case, the drought brought on by El Nino has stoked the forest fires, making the haze worse than ever. Perhaps this time, ASEAN will learn its lesson.

-- The Nation, Bangkok