Next week, Environment Ministers from Southeast Asian nations will gather for a meeting in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, to seek long-term solutions to the haze problem caused by fires in the region.
According to an announcement from Malaysia and Singapore on September 20, the meeting will take place from September 26-29, involving participants from China, South Korea, and Japan.
Bernama news agency quoted Malaysian Environment Minister Adenan Satem stating that the meeting will discuss cross-border air pollution and strategies to prevent it.
Singapore’s Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim noted that although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has an agreement on haze, there is still a need to improve haze prevention methods in the region.
According to Yaacob Ibrahim, discussions at the ministerial meeting could lead to the haze issue becoming an agenda item at the upcoming ASEAN summit scheduled for December. In fact, he pointed out that haze has significantly impacted tourism in the region. During the 1997-1998 period, Southeast Asia suffered a loss of $9 billion due to haze disrupting air travel, tourism, and other business activities.
Malaysia and Singapore are urging ASEAN countries to take action in preventing haze. Malaysia has been the most severely affected by haze. Last month, air pollution levels in the country reached a dangerously high level, forcing schools and an airport to close.
According to Michal Krzyzanowski, a leading air quality expert at the European Centre for Health and Environment of the WHO (based in Bonn, Germany), air pollution in many major cities in Southeast Asia and China is ranked among the worst in the world, leading to approximately 500,000 deaths each year. The WHO estimates that around 800,000 people die globally each year due to air pollution.
Minh Thương (According to Jakarta Post/AP)
