Hazing the Neighbors - Transboundary Haze and the National Interest

The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AA-THP) is to be ratified by Indonesia and to this end the Bill on Haze is currently doing the rounds of Commission I, IV, and VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) for a series of inputs from the relevant Departments. Nevertheless, the sticking points are likely to be what obligations Indonesia will assume and whether they reflect the national interest.

The Bill includes 32 Articles of which 27 are considered obligatory. This means that if the Bill is passed then Indonesia must be able to fulfill these obligations or be willing to face the consequences. The major issue is that Indonesia has not yet been able to successfully manage the yearly outbreak of forest fires. It is these forest fires that are the main source of the haze that afflicts Indonesia's neighbors causing not only practical problems but physical ones as well.