Ministers to meet over haze

Ministers to meet over haze

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Southeast Asian environment ministers gather in Singapore on Thursday to discuss the return of regional haze from forest fires in Indonesia, the Singapore government said on Saturday.

The eighth meeting of ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was previously scheduled for October, but was moved forward by two months after smoke began to shroud parts of Indonesia and Malaysia and briefly Singapore.

Widespread smog from Indonesian forest fires choked the region in 1997, costing billions of dollars in agricultural damage, lost tourism and health costs.

Environmentalists have noted the continued illegal burning of forests in Indonesia, where torching of scrubland is commonly used to prepare land for agriculture.

The recent fires have spotted remote parts of the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, and have been exacerbated by the ongoing dry season.