August 14, 1999 
| | |
| ||
| August 14, 1999 | atimes.com | |
| ||
| Southeast Asia Smoke gets in Asean's eyes By Ivan Gan SINGAPORE - Smog, mostly from Indonesian forest fires, has crept back to hound the region just a few weeks after Southeast Asian governments pledged to take quick action to battle such common woes. So far the pall of pollution across Southeast Asia is nowhere near that of the 1997 smog episode, which interfered with flights and caused disruptions costing some $4 billion in tourism, public health and transport. But already worried Singaporeans and Malaysians are scouring the skies for signs of a worsening of the smog, and organizers of the Southeast Asian Games in Brunei have expressed concern about the dense clouds affecting the tournament. As in the past, the onset of the dry season in the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra has led to fires, especially those started in plantations for land-clearing, that produce a thick haze which envelops nearby countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. In the 1997 haze emergency, irresponsible practices for land-clearing cost Indonesia more than one million hectares of forest. In light of the adverse impact of the haze, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) issued a joint communique at its annual meeting here in late July agreeing to ''deal with environmental issues and other transnational problems''. Asean experienced a surge in confidence following strong signs of recovery from the economic crisis, but the return of the smog will test a grouping already faulted for doing too little too late in the wake of the 1997 smog occurrence. This time, Asean environment ministers have decided to meet on the haze issue sooner rather than later. A spokesman at Singapore's Ministry of the Environment said a meeting will be held at the end of August. But that does not help that countries like Malaysia, which, instead of preparing and protecting residents from this year's episode, opted to stop publicizing air pollution readings for fear of losing precious tourism revenue. Malaysia's environment minister Law Hieng Ding defended the move, saying the government will no longer give full pollution readings to avoid causing ''unnecessary alarm among the public''. He said, however, that the government will release information it deems necessary. Malaysian studies about the effects of the 1997 haze, along with a World Health Organization (WHO) report completed in 1998, also have not been published, news reports say. The prospect of a severe smog episode has again put pressure on the Indonesian government and raised tensions between it and its neighbors. ''Related departments and institutions must as early as possible coordinate to take steps to prevent the fires from becoming more widespread,'' Indonesian President BJ Habibie insisted recently. But many wonder about Indonesia's capacity to clamp down on errant plantation owners and whether it has adequate resources, given its other economic problems, to get massive fires under control. Recently, visibility in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was down to about 2.5 miles and Singapore's Pollution Standards Index (PSI) nearly surpassed 100, which would have been considered an unhealthy level. So far, the worst effects of the haze are seen in Sumatra's Riau province, where the PSI reached as high as 500 last week. Health centers have been ordered by officials to stay open round-the-clock in case of emergencies arising from the haze. The Malaysian state of Sarawak was the hardest-hit by the 1997 smog problem, with the reading on Malaysia's Air Pollution Index hitting 650 in September last year, or high above the hazardous level. The coming weeks and months will show whether the ''action plan'' that Asean says it put in place after the 1997 episode will work. In their July meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asian environment ministers unveiled a plan that included education, fire prevention, fire-fighting and surveillance techniques. Ever since the dreaded smog became a significant problem at the end of July, only Malaysia has offered Indonesia aid to battle the smoldering flames engulfing its forests. Indonesia also banned clearing of land by fire, but enforcement has been difficult. While Indonesia's parliament drafted a new law in July, critics feel that it still does not make for adequate control over logging companies. In the end, Koh Kheng Lian, a law professor in Singapore, says Indonesia's neighbors who are paying a high price for the haze need to exert even more pressure on Jakarta. Some people, like Koh, say that the Asean way of consensus-making before action is inadequate to address the smog. For many, there have been enough diplomatic niceties already. (Inter Press Service) | |||||||||
 |
|
Front | China | Southeast Asia | Japan | Koreas | India/Pakistan | Central Asia/Russia | Oceania Business Briefs | Global Economy | Asian Crisis | Media/IT | Editorials | Letters | Search/Archive |
back to the top ©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd. |
