Official sound out haze alarm

Official sound out haze alarm

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): ASEAN environment ministers sounded the alarm once more against forest fires raging in the large Indonesian island of Sumatra that have brought back air pollution to Singapore and Malaysia.

With the onset of the dry season in the region, the ministers "reiterated the importance to remain vigilant and to take immediate and firm actions" in stepping up implementation of a regional action plan to combat the haze, a Friday statement said.

The ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) endorsed at their meeting in Brunei the immediate implementation of a "zero-burning policy" in Sumatra and the other vast island of Borneo, where forest fires originated during the haze episodes of 1997 and 1998. Borneo is shared by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Efforts would also be accelerated to promote the "zero-burning policy" among plantation owners and timber concessionaires, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which were most affected by haze in the past.

The meeting comes following satellite pictures showing "hot spots" in central Sumatra since Monday, and winds which have blown smoke over to the city-state since early Thursday, the Singapore environment ministry said.

The Singapore skyline was shrouded in thick haze early Friday, sending the pollutant standards index (PSI) up to 79 at 7:00 a.m. (23:00 GMT Thursday) -- the highest level in recent months, a ministry spokesman told AFP. The levels had been on a declining trend from then, he said.