BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

MINISTERS responsible for the environment from ASEAN member states yesterday underscored the need for member states to prioritise resolving the haze problem within the expected targets and timelines adopted in their action plan.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Development said Minister of Development Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Hj Bahrin Abdullah represented Brunei at the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-12 AATHP) yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In the meeting, the ministers adopted the Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation Towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation.

The statement said the roadmap will serve as a strategic framework for the implementation of the collaborative actions to control transboundary haze pollution in the ASEAN region to achieve the vision of a transboundary haze-free ASEAN by 2020.

The ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to effectively implement the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution resulting from land and forest fires through concerted national efforts and regional cooperation.

They called for ASEAN member states to utilise the mechanism under AATHP to mobilise the Panel of ASEAN Experts on Fire and Haze Assessment and Coordination to assess the fire situation on the ground and further recommend the external fire assistance required.

The ministers also commended the significant progress in the implementation of activities/programmes of the agreement, including the progress in the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) and the proposed study on the economic, health and social impact of haze in 2015 in the ASEAN region.

The statement also included the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre’s weather outlook for the ASEAN region for the coming months, in particular the prevailing neutral (neither El Nino nor La Nina) conditions and the chance of La Nina conditions developing in the third quarter of 2016.

“Rainfall was expected to be normal to above normal. However, it was also noted that periods of drier weather can still be expected during the peak of the traditional dry season in the southern ASEAN region between August and September 2016,” the statement said.

In view of the predicted regional weather and haze outlook, the ASEAN member states pledged to remain vigilant and continuously monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires in anticipation of the drier weather in the southern ASEAN region in the next few months.

The ministers also noted the significant progress by ASEAN member states on the operationalisation of alert levels and trigger points for fire prevention and suppression under the revised Standard Operating Procedure for Monitoring, Assessment and Joint Emergency Response as to prevent recurrence of transboundary haze pollution.

The statement added that most of the ASEAN member states have contributed to the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Control Fund towards realising the pledge of providing an initial seed contribution of US$500,000 for the fund.

The statement said the ministers welcomed contributions from other partners to the fund.

The ministers also renewed their commitment to implement the ASEAN Programme on Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems or APSMPE (2014-2020) through ASEAN mechanisms, enhanced national level efforts and multi-stakeholder partnership.

This is due to the substantive progress of the regional programme and the encouraging response and support from ASEAN dialogue and development partners.

They also noted the initiatives by the Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution (MSC) countries to take the necessary actions in order to operationalise the ASEAN Sub-regional Haze Monitoring System.

The ministers also encouraged MSC countries to share information on hotspots that cause transboundary haze on a government-to-government basis.

The ministers responsible for the environment will meet again in 2017 in Brunei for the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-13).