Malaysia, Indonesia explore proposed MoU to tackle transboundary haze

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia and Indonesia are exploring a proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the environment and climate change to strengthen efforts to prevent forest and land fires and reduce the risk of transboundary haze.Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said the proposed cooperation would focus on sharing hotspot monitoring data, managing high-risk areas and coordinating early action to prevent fires from spreading.“Malaysia and Indonesia will continue to work together through the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) as the main mechanism for strengthening prevention, monitoring and response measures to haze incidents, in line with ASEAN’s aspiration of achieving a haze-free region by 2030,” he said during a question-and-answer session in Parliament on Oct 21.He was responding to a question from Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid on diplomatic measures and cooperation undertaken by the government with Indonesia to reduce the risk of transboundary haze.Syed Ibrahim said Malaysia had formally offered assistance to Indonesia on Sept 9 to tackle forest and land fires, including through aerial firefighting operations using water bombing and cloud seeding.He said Indonesia had agreed to accept Malaysia’s offer of assistance to tackle fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra, while arrangements for deploying the assistance were being coordinated by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and relevant agencies.Syed Ibrahim said Malaysia had also proposed two key initiatives at the ASEAN level: science diplomacy to strengthen the use of scientific data and evidence in haze management, and a sustainable haze fund to expand financing for fire prevention and regional haze management efforts.He said discussions on the initiatives would continue at the 21st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the AATHP, scheduled to be held in Vietnam in December.Replying to a supplementary question from Syahredzan Johan on a proposal to enact specific legislation to address transboundary haze, he said the matter required careful consideration to ensure the law could be implemented effectively.“The main challenge is obtaining sufficient evidence to establish the source of the pollution and identify those responsible.“This includes obtaining information on the location and coordinates of fire-affected areas, land ownership, parties conducting activities in those areas, and evidence linking a particular fire incident to the haze pollution experienced,” he said. BERNAMA