SINGAPORE - Southeast Asian civic groups on Thursday urged governments to name and shame those responsible for the haze that has blanketed the region, and warned that losses could top US$9 billion.
The haze is caused by forest fires that have raged for weeks in Indonesia, spreading smoke across much of Southeast Asia.
Indonesia's neighbours have grown increasingly frustrated over the fires, most of which are deliberately lit by farmers as well as by timber and palm oil plantation owners.
"Indonesia must take action to figure out which companies are involved - and perhaps even explore prosecuting the companies which are doing the wrong thing," Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, told a news conference after the civic groups met in Singapore.
The non-governmental organisations were from Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore -- all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- which have been affected by the choking haze.
The organisations also asked for an action plan and a collective fund to finance haze prevention.
"A haze control fund should be something which ASEAN countries can put money into, to put their money where their mouths are," added Tay.
"There needs to be a concrete plan and political will; there also needs to be a sense of the costs involved. Paying for the action and then funding the appropriate response will be a logical and rational step."
Around Southeast Asia, airports are closing, leisure and tourism are taking a hit, and respiratory and breathing problems are on the rise. The haza has come during the Muslim Hari Raya season, usually a peak period for travel.
This time around, the haze could cost more than the estimated US$9 billion in economic losses that Southeast Asia suffered in 1997, the last time the haze was as bad, Tay said.
The problem has triggered fears of a repeat of the environmental disaster in 1997-98, when dry conditions linked to the El Nino weather pattern caused a choking haze that cost the region billions in economic losses.
Environment ministers from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei failed to reach a detailed attack plan when they met last week on Indonesia's Sumatra island to discuss the crisis.
"The idea that Jakarta is the problem and exporting the problem has to be modified," said Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, chairman of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies.
"It is affecting the people and the economy of Indonesia much more than the other countries. It's a common problem and therefore a shared responsibility."
Story by Hsu Chuang Khoo
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
