Haze, which has been plaguing the skyline in the region, is expected to be prevented from recurring again this year based on the assurance from Indonesia.
Malaysia’s Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the Indonesian government is taking proactive steps such as combating forest fires, responding quickly to forest fires and taking action against small plantations that are indulging in open burning to tackle this yearly affair.
“Based on the assurance given by Indonesia, we will not see haze this year. We are discussing on the matter through the ASEAN spirit,” Wan Junaidi told The ASEAN Post via phone call.
In 2015, this seasonal pollution affected the region particularly in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Indonesia after forest fires broke out in Indonesia.
To make matters worse, stinging smoke from illegal burning to clear land for palm oil and paper plantations blanketed Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of Indonesia for over a month in 2015.
Besides prompting school closures and disrupting sea and air travel in the region, the smog also caused some in Indonesia to flee their homes. The haze also costed Indonesia – which is Southeast Asia’s biggest economy – $16.1 billion of losses, according to World Bank estimates.
Wan Junaidi hopes that the systematic and aggressive action taken by Indonesia will prevent haze from returning again this year.
Bloomberg reported that Indonesia sees the risk of forest and land fires increasing until the peak of dry season in September, reigniting concerns of a repeat of the 2015 haze that enveloped much of Southeast Asia.
Satellite images showed 170 hotspots across the country, including 35 in Aceh province of Sumatra island, 44 in East Nusa Tenggara and 21 in West Kalimantan, said a Bloomberg report, citing the National Disaster Management Authority.
Affected areas also included other parts of Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Borneo – the agency known as National Board for Disaster Management said on Twitter.