International Efforts to Tackle the Haze

Eluded by the term "trans-boundary haze", the problem of haze pollution is not confined to just the country releasing the pollutants nor the countries affected. The major players in the world have gotten involved in discussions to resolve the haze with both incentives and aid being provided to Indonesia as well as the affected countries.

In 1997, the foreign minister of Myanmar who headed the Environmental Affairs at the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the time suggested that the haze mitigation efforts should be carried out at the regional level due to its transboundary nature, its extreme effect on society and its close relationship to natural resource management in the region. ASEAN member countries unanimously supported this as an opportunity to address the public's concerns. 

This manifested in the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 where a pledge was being made to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia. The general obligations of the agreement states that the Parties shall:

"1. Co-operate in developing and implementing measures to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution as a result of land and/or forest fires which should be mitigated, and to control sources of fires, including by the identification of fires, development of monitoring, assessment and early warning systems, exchange of information and technology, and the provision of mutual assistance. 

2. When the transboundary haze pollution originates from within their territories, respond promptly to a request for relevant information or consultations sought by a State or States that are or may be affected by such transboundary haze pollution, with a view to minimising the consequences of the transboundary haze pollution. 

3. Take legislative, administrative and/or other measures to implement their obligations under this Agreement. "

Over the years, though ASEAN has not seen much success given the absence of Indonesia from the agreement, in October 2013 leaders have approved a joint haze monitoring system and Singapore has offered to start working directly with Indonesian farmers to encourage sustainable practices and minimise the problem by "tackling the haze issue at its root" (Straits Times, 2014). Perhaps it is coincidental, but actual policy implementations seemed to have only come after the 2013 haze outbreak where PSI values broke previous records and shocked the region into action. The impetus of haze prevention might have surfaced even greater and hence propelled nations (Indonesia included) into bring the agreement from the policy level to the ground for political reasons perhaps. 

References 

Strait Times. (2014) Singapore willing to work with Indonesia, Malaysia to tackle causes of haze.