Jakarta. ASEAN has had a regional mechanism to tackle the impact of forest and land fires for more than two decades, but effective joint action remains limited as haze once again poses health and safety risks across parts of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia has emerged as the main source of the current forest and land fires amid an extreme dry season, El Niño conditions, and the continued use of fire for land clearing. The resulting haze has spread beyond its borders to neighboring countries including Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.

According to Forestry Ministry data, more than 202,000 hectares of forests and land burned across Indonesia between January and July, excluding tens of thousands of hectares affected in August alone.

West, South, and Central Kalimantan, along with Riau, have recorded some of the largest concentrations of burned areas, with smoke traveling across national borders.

Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported Thursday that air quality had deteriorated particularly along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and in several parts of Sarawak, with Air Pollutant Index (API) readings reaching as high as 158.

Malaysia's Health Ministry also reported a sharp increase in respiratory illnesses amid the haze affecting several parts of the country. Cases of acute upper respiratory tract infections rose 124.4%, while asthma cases jumped 259% compared with the previous epidemiological week.

Singapore, meanwhile, has stepped up preparations as its Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reached 99 in the central region on Aug. 25, just below the unhealthy threshold of 101.

The Straits Times reported that preparations included setting up a dedicated haze ward at a nursing home, distributing care packs to senior citizens and other vulnerable people through the Singapore Red Cross, and ensuring preschools have air purifiers and child-sized masks ready for use.

Regional Response
The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was signed in Kuala Lumpur in 2002 and entered into force the following year, becoming the region's first legally binding environmental agreement specifically addressing transboundary haze from land and forest fires.

Indonesia, despite historically being one of the region's largest sources of transboundary haze, was the last ASEAN member to ratify the agreement, completing the process in 2015.

The agreement provides a framework for cooperation in prevention, monitoring, information exchange, early warning, technical assistance, and emergency response.

Singapore and Malaysia have previously provided resources, including firefighters, equipment, and aircraft, to help Indonesia combat major forest and land fires. In recent years, however, regional cooperation has increasingly emphasized prevention and preparedness.

Aswin Ariyanto Azis, an international relations expert at Brawijaya University, described the regional initiative as “realistic” given the cross-border nature of the problem, but said it has clear limitations.

“The mechanism is limited to coordination, monitoring, data exchange, and inter-state assistance. The on-the-ground response depends heavily on how individual countries tackle the haze,” Aswin told the Jakarta Globe.

Aswin urged Indonesia to make greater use of the Jakarta-based ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control, including its capacity to provide early warnings and facilitate regional coordination.

Teuku Rezasyah, an associate professor of international relations at President University, said Indonesia was fortunate that Malaysia and Brunei had chosen to raise the issue within ASEAN “and not the UN,” warning that an escalation of the issue could damage Jakarta's international reputation.

“The ASEAN mechanism allows Jakarta to explain the hurdles that it is facing. But Indonesia should translate the agreement into concrete measures, ranging from national legislation down to local regulations,” Teuku said.

The ASEAN agreement also provides for a haze control fund financed through voluntary contributions from member states.

Teuku suggested that Indonesia could allocate some of the money collected through penalties for environmental violations toward its contribution to the regional fund.

Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat recently acknowledged that although ASEAN members have made commitments to tackle transboundary haze under the agreement, many of the technical arrangements needed to translate those commitments into action have yet to be finalized.

He said cooperation among Southeast Asian countries remains largely focused on exchanging information about haze and has yet to develop into substantial joint mitigation efforts.

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Diorra Kesuma contributed to this report.

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