ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution

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The business district of Kuala Lumpur in the evening of September 29, 2006. Menara Kuala Lumpur was barely visible.

Singapore's Downtown Core on 7 October 2006, when it was affected by forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Satellite photograph of the 2006 haze above Borneo

Severe haze affecting Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 2005

The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution is an environmental agreement signed in 2002 between all ASEAN nations to bring haze pollution under control in Southeast Asia ^[1]

The agreement is a reaction to an environmental crisis that hit Southeast Asia in the late 1990s. The crisis was mainly caused by land clearing via open burning in the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Satellite images confirmed the presence of hot spots throughout Borneo, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and several other places. Malaysia, Singapore and to a certain extent, Thailand and Brunei were particularly badly affected.

From Sumatra, monsoon winds blew the smoke eastward and hence creating negative environmental externalities on other Southeast Asian nations. Thick haze covered much of Southeast Asia for weeks and caused noticeable health problems among the populace.

As of August 2005, seven countries have ratified the agreement. Indonesia has yet to ratify the treaty, however.

1 Parties to the Agreement
2 Reference
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Parties to the Agreement

Members	Date of Ratification
Malaysia	3 December 2002
Singapore	13 January 2003
Brunei	27 February 2003
Myanmar	5 March 2003
Vietnam	24 March 2003
Thailand	10 September 2003
Laos	19 December 2004