Southeast Asia outlines measures to combat smog

SINGAPORE (Agencies): Southeast Asian nations adopted a blueprint yesterday to prevent a recurrence of the haze that enveloped the region this year, but Indonesia cautioned that efforts could be hampered by economic problems.

The Regional Haze Action Plan outlines measures member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will take to prevent brush and forest fires, officials said at the end of a meeting here.

It will also establish mechanisms to monitor the fires and strengthen regional fire fighting capabilities.

"We have concrete, timebound action which will enable the region to cope better with the problem of fire and haze," Singapore Environment Minister Yeo Cheow Tong told reporters after the two-day conference.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are the lead countries in the plan's implementation.

Haze from raging fires began in July and lasted until October, generating air pollution and causing an outbreak of respiratory diseases affecting "millions of people across the region", the ASEAN joint statement said.

Reduced visibility caused a series of fatal accidents and kept thousands of tourists away. Most fires were started deliberately to clear land.

But at a separate news briefing, Indonesia acknowledged the regional economic crisis affecting Southeast Asia could hamper efforts to control the use of fire to clear land that led to the forest fires.

"It's a very real risk, because if the economy is not strong, then the drive toward such acts will be bigger," said Indonesian State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

Environmental groups largely blamed major plantation companies for the forest fires which the Indonesian government said destroyed 165,000 hectares of forest.

"In such a case, it would be very important for Indonesia to control the big players," Sarwono said.

He said the Indonesian government has taken a "more stringent attitude" toward licensing plantation companies, and that it was prosecuting one company allegedly accused of setting the fires deliberately.

Sarwono said the regional economic crisis, which is expected to slow down the growth of Southeast Asian countries and drive millions to unemployment, would make it more difficult to educate people on the dangers of using slash-and-burn for land clearing.

"We ought to have a drastic change in behavior," Sarwono said, adding that this may be the "most difficult" challenge of implementing the action plan.

Sarwono also said he would propose a moratorium on fresh investments in the palm oil industry to cut down on the need to use fire to clear land.

"There was this stress on quantity that drove investors to clear land out of proportion to what was really needed," he told a news conference.

"And that's what triggered the haze problem. The drive was really not needed. If we concentrate on quality, then the whole problem will be more manageable," he said.

Indonesia is the world's largest producer of crude palm oil after neighboring Malaysia. Both are members of ASEAN along with Brunei, Burma, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Sarwono believes it is unlikely the region will face another drought in the near future.

"The next drought will be in 2000, unless we have another drought in 1998. Statistically speaking such a possibility is not very likely, but we are wary," he said.

"The weather will be favorable for rice, plantation crops and shrimps, but not favorable for tobacco," he said.

Singapore's Yeo, who chaired the meeting, said Indonesia would lead the effort in honing regional fire fighting capabilities.

Malaysia would play a key role in implementing preventative measures while Singapore would initiate regional monitoring mechanisms.