ASEAN ministers urge quicker activation of haze coordination centre
The renewed push comes after Indonesian forest fires spread haze to the Philippines, prompting class cancellations.
ASEAN foreign ministers want the regional centre responsible for coordinating transboundary haze control to start operating more quickly, Philippine News Agency reported, following severe pollution across several Southeast Asian countries.
The ministers raised the issue during their meeting in Pasay City. Extensive forest fires in Indonesia had carried smog as far as the Philippines, where classes were cancelled during the year's second half.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said Indonesia told participants it was taking action and doing its best to address the haze. She said Singapore and Malaysia responded positively to Indonesia's statement.
According to Lazaro, the talks examined measures under way within individual countries alongside regional cooperation to reduce fires affecting land and forests.
The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, adopted in 2002, provides for preventing and monitoring cross-border haze from such fires. It also requires the bloc to establish the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control to manage the pollution's effects.
