Transboundary Haze Pollution : Balancing the ASEAN Way and the Malaysia Approach

Abstract

The haze phenomenon is engulfing Southeast Asia. Such a yearly epidemic is primarily originating from fires ravaging the foreste of the Indonesian islands. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are often badly distressed by this environmental anomaly. Thick smog hovers over the airspace of Malaysia, Singapore, Southern, Thailand, and at times the Philippine islands , causing environmental and health problems for millions of people inhabiting areas across the region.The scarcity of rain often worsens the appalling air quality in affected areas. Nearly every year,the unwanted smoke – broght about by the winds from forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo – hovers over Southeast Asian skies for months, depriving millions their right to enjoy clean air. On October 4,2015, satellites detected 1,840 hotspots over Sumatra.