Lasting solution to Southeast Asia's haze crisis requires stronger national action: Report
Jakarta, Oct 31
ASEAN can serve as a key platform for coordinating regional efforts and providing technical assistance to address the recurring haze crisis, but it cannot be the sole mechanism for delivering a lasting solution, a report has stated.
It noted that long-term progress would also depend on individual member governments taking responsibility and strengthening measures within their respective domestic legal frameworks.
"Every few years the same grey settles over the region, and almost identical script is repeated, where concerns are raised, and actions are promised, but impact has been scarce. When domestic or bilateral actions are limited, ASEAN is seen as the convenient platform to be seen where at least efforts are made to address the long-held conundrum," a report in Eurasia Review stated.
"But this risks the mechanism being used as a feel-good factor, without the real structural and systemic changes and solutions needed. ASEAN has failed on the issue of haze, but other pressing and long-held crises have also faced the same roadblock and impasse by the structural limitations of ASEAN," it added.
According to the report, ASEAN has provided governments with a platform to demonstrate action, but its ability to deliver meaningful results remains limited.
It questioned why fires of such magnitude continue to recur despite the risks being well documented.
During the 1997-98 crisis, fires ravaged nearly 100,000 square kilometres of land, causing estimated losses of around US$9 billion. The next major outbreak occurred in 2015, when 2.6 million hectares burned, resulting in economic losses of US$16.1 billion, Eurasia Review noted.
"The underlying causes have repeatedly been identified as clearing land by burning, the poor management of peatland, the economic interests of plantations, and weak oversight and enforcement at the local level. While El Niño did worsen the situation, it cannot be singled out as the sole convenient reason to set aside human and institutional responsibility," the report stated.
"As long as the priority is confined to emergency response rather than structural reform and prevention, the problem will persist," it added.
The report noted that ASEAN has sought to tackle the issue through regional mechanisms, beginning with the 2002 ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, followed by successive haze-free roadmaps for 2016-2020 and 2023-2030. However, it said, progress in translating these initiatives into effective action has been minimal.
Highlighting three-pronged structural weaknesses, the report said, "First, the root causes of the haze are rooted in economic structures and land use, with large commercial interests at stake. Second, the capacity and the will to enforce laws differ between the central government, local administrations and enforcement agencies. Third, ASEAN itself has no enforcement power to penalise or to enforce the rules."
— IANS
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