Singapore Pushes ASEAN to Clear the Air on Haze
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Singapore is preparing to push for stronger action against regional haze as it takes on the ASEAN chair role in 2027, and it plans to ratify an agreement establishing a regional haze control centre in Indonesia. That may sound like diplomatic housekeeping, but anyone farming under smoky skies knows haze is no paperwork problem.
In Southeast Asia, haze is often tied to land clearing, peat fires, dry-season burning, and the difficult economics of managing landscapes at scale. Not every fire is started by farmers, and not every farmer has the same resources, but agriculture and land use sit right at the heart of the issue. Smoke does not respect borders, farm boundaries, or school schedules.
For growers, haze can affect worker health, livestock stress, visibility, transport, pollination activity, and even the public perception of farming systems. For governments, it is a test of regional cooperation: fire prevention, monitoring, enforcement, peat restoration, and support for no-burn alternatives all need to line up like a well-tuned planter.
The creation of a haze control centre could help improve coordination, but the real work will be on the ground. Fire-free production requires affordable machinery, residue management options, extension support, credit, and market incentives. Asking smallholders to change practices without giving them workable tools is like asking someone to plow with a spoon.
This story matters because climate extremes are making fire seasons trickier in many parts of the world. Drier spells, hotter temperatures, and degraded landscapes can turn small flames into regional crises. If ASEAN can make haze prevention more practical and better coordinated, it could offer a model for other regions where agriculture, fire, and climate risk are becoming tangled in the same fence.
Original source
CNA - Read original articleMore from today's edition
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