ASEAN Member States (AMS) signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) on 10 June 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution as a result of land and/or forest fires, through concerted national efforts and intensified regional and international cooperation. To further operationalise the implementation of the AATHP, in 2016 AMS developed the Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation, which sets out eight (8) key strategic components that translate the principles of the AATHP into concrete and collective actions. ASEAN is actively collaborating both regionally and internationally to improve technical, legal and institutional capacities of member countries to prevent and handle transboundary haze pollution. 

AATHP mandates the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) to facilitate co-operation and co-ordination among the Parties in managing the impact of land and/or forest fires and its associated transboundary haze pollution. The 1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to AATHP (COP-1) was held on 11 November 2004 and it welcomed Indonesia’s offer to host the Centre. COP-11 held on 29 October 2015 further endorsed Indonesia’s intention to host the ACC THPC. The discussion among the Parties is currently ongoing to finalise the necessary legal documents for its establishment.

To prevent peatland fires and shift the unsustainable management of peatland, the ASEAN Environment Ministers developed the ASEAN Peatland Management Initiative (APMI) in cooperation with various partners in 2003 under the ambit of the Agreement. Subsequently, the ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy (APMS) covering the period 2006-2020 was developed and endorsed by AMS in 2006 and updated in 2013 to guide actions to sustainably manage peatlands and reduce fires and its associated haze in the region. 

Peatland management, land and/or forest fires as well as transboundary haze pollution are cross-sectoral issues that need to be addressed collaboratively. Hence, there is an urgent need to strengthen the cross-sectoral and cross-pillar coordination within ASEAN Member States, local communities, non-governmental organisations, farmers, private companies, as well as research institutions.

ASEAN in collaboration with various partners and stakeholders are implementing several ASEAN Haze and Peatlands Programmes, namely, the ASEAN-EU Sustainable Use of Peatlands and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA); ASEAN-IFAD Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia (MAHFSA); and the GEF-6 Project on Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems in Mekong Countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar) (the Mekong Peatlands Project).

Through initiatives and actions, the region envisions a haze-free ASEAN benefiting from good air quality as well reduced number of hotspots. Moreover, the sustainable management of peatlands will contribute to achieving a clean and green ASEAN, with sustainable use of natural resources, and improved livelihood of its community.

[1] Qadri, S. T. (2001). Fire, smoke, and haze: The ASEAN response strategy. Asian Development Bank.

[2] http://haze.asean.org/about-us/information-on-fire-and-haze/

[3] Koh, K. L. (2009). ASEAN Environmental Law, Policy and Governance: Selected Documents. Volume 1. World Scientific.