RI told to curb forest fires

RI told to curb forest fires

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters): Southeast Asian environment
ministers urged Indonesia on Saturday to take steps against
forest fires which sparked a regional smog crisis in 1997, with
dry weather was expected again next year.

The ministers also said ASEAN was preparing a Transboundary
Haze Pollution pact, expected to be finalized within a year, to
tackle the smog problem. No details were available.

"Meteorologist in the region have predicted the La Nina wet
weather is reaching its tail end and that there is a 30 percent
chance of El Nino returning next year," they said in a joint
statement.

"The ministers urged Indonesia to take effective enforcement
measures to tackle plantation and forest fires in order to
prevent a repeat of the 1997 regional haze."