Southeast Asia's smog plan seen as smoke screen
Southeast Asia's smog plan seen as smoke screen
By Benjamin Low
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Southeast Asian nations have not yet
proved they are up to combating smog and could be touting a new
plan merely as a delaying tactic, an influential Malaysian
environmentalist says.
Gurmit Singh, executive director of the Center for
Environment, Technology And Development Malaysia, slammed ASEAN
governments for being secretive in efforts to avoid a repeat of
the smoke pollution that engulfed the region two years ago.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) unveiled a
plan on Tuesday that regional environment ministers said would
ensure clear skies ahead of the Southeast Asia Games in Brunei
next month, but they gave no details.
"Why don't they publish the details of the plan? Unless there
is a time frame in which to evaluate the plan, how do we say
whether it's working or not?" Singh, who is known in Malaysia as
"Mr. Green", told Reuters in an interview.
The 10-member ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
"The ministers tend to drag their feet. They may be just
trying to buy time with this plan."
The smog-fighting campaign is expected to begin in two weeks
and will be piloted in Indonesia's Riau province, where fires
have broken out since May. It includes education, fire-
prevention, fire-fighting and surveillance.
If successful, the plan will be implemented in other fire-
prone areas in Indonesia, source of most of the region's dry
season forest fires and haze.
Singh, who is also adviser and founder of the Environmental
Protection Society Malaysia, said unless the authorities stopped
widespread open-burning practices in the region, their plan would
not work.
Such practices included the clearing of land for plantations.
"Have they (the authorities) been able to sensitive local
officials who issue permits for open-burning and teach farmers to
refrain from it?" asked Singh, who is a member of the Malaysian
government's advisory body on the environment.
"You can't wait for fires to come up and then only put them
down. This is the real problem."
ASEAN governments said this week they had lived up to their
promises to enforce the proposed zero-burning policy.
Health-threatening smog blanketed the region for months in
1997 and seriously hurt the region's tourism industry.
Last month, haze re-emerged in Malaysia and Singapore, raising
fears of a return of the smog. However, in recent weeks, rains
from the lingering La Nina weather phenomenon have kept the
region largely haze-free.
"The dry season could be delayed. Only after September and
October can we safely say it won't happen," he said, warning
against complacency.
Like other environmental groups, Singh condemned the Malaysian
government for withholding its closely watched air pollution
index (API), saying the move would only fan public suspicion.
Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding has accused foreign news
media of using the data to scare away tourists.
"Environmental issues are tied to public confidence. As long
as you are not transparent, you are not doing the right thing,"
Singh said.