Why Does Southeast Asia Keep Breathing The Same Haze - And Can ASEAN Do More To Stop It?

(MENAFN- The Conversation) Southeast Asia has spent decades trying to tackle haze from forest fires. Yet every few years, the region finds itself breathing it again.. The transboundary environmental problem has become a recurrent phenomenon in the region.

The latest episode is no exception. Forest and land fires in Indonesia have sent smoke across parts of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and other parts of Southeast Asia. On Aug. 26, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre raised the regional haze alert to Level 3 as smoke from hotspots in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory that makes up the majority of the island of Borneo, spread across borders.

Indonesia bears the primary responsibility for preventing and fighting fires on its territory. But once the smoke crosses national borders, haze becomes more than a domestic environmental problem. Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam have agreed to take this matter to the ASEAN level.

This issue has now become a test of whether ASEAN can help its members manage problems that no country can contain alone.

Read more: Borneo forest fires spike again: Why El Niño isn't the sole culprit

Why does the haze keep coming back?

Transboundary haze is hardly new. Historical records show that smoke from fires in Indonesia has affected neighbouring countries since at least the 1970s. The 1997 and 2015 fires were among the region's most severe.

Scientific research points to a combination of human activity and environmental conditions. Land clearing through burning can ignite fires, while drained and degraded peatlands are particularly vulnerable. Once dry, peat can burn underground and produce thick, persistent smoke that is difficult to extinguish.

Weather can make the situation worse. Prolonged dry conditions, including those associated with El Niño, can dry out vegetation and peatlands, allowing fires to spread more easily. In the current crisis, below-normal rainfall and strong dry-season conditions are helping sustain the fires and carry smoke across borders.

This means the haze cannot be solved simply by responding when fires are already burning. Prevention, land management and enforcement matter just as much.

Read more: Putting out wildfires: how peat restoration has reduced fire risk in Indonesia's tropical forests

Indonesia has the primary responsibility

Indonesia is central to the problem because many of the fires generating transboundary smoke occur within its territory, particularly in the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. This places the primary responsibility on the Indonesian government to prevent fires, enforce environmental regulations and hold those responsible accountable.

Indonesia already has laws and institutions aimed at preventing forest and land fires. Research also shows that the government has strengthened peatland protection and related institutions since 2016.

The challenge is implementation.

The recurring fires show how difficult it can be to translate regulations into effective prevention, particularly when land use, economic interests, local practices and extreme weather intersect. Indonesian authorities have recently, again, promised legal action against those responsible for the fires.

The question is not whether Indonesia should act, but whether national action alone is enough when the consequences are regional.

Read more: Sumatra's flood crisis: How deforestation turned a cyclonic storm into a likely recurring tragedy

ASEAN has tried before

ASEAN has recognised this problem for decades.

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In 1997, member states adopted the Regional Haze Action Plan to strengthen prevention, monitoring and regional coordination. In 2002, they adopted the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), creating a regional framework for preventing and responding to transboundary haze.

Indonesia, however, was the last ASEAN member to ratify the agreement, depositing its ratification in 2015. Studies argued that the treaty's mechanisms remain limited because they reflect "the ASEAN Way” – particularly principles of sovereignty and non-interference.

This creates a dilemma: the haze is regional, but much of the authority to address its causes remains national.

This explains why ASEAN can coordinate information, monitoring and emergency responses but has struggled to make member states fully accountable for recurring transboundary pollution.

Read more: Indonesia drags its feet on ASEAN haze treaty

Can ASEAN do more?

ASEAN does not need to become a supranational authority to become more effective.

First, affected countries can use ASEAN channels to demand stronger enforcement from Indonesia. Public scrutiny will also make inaction a major reputational liability.

Second, ASEAN can improve transparency. Regional sharing of hotspot data, fire information and assessments of government responses could make it easier to identify where fires occur and whether commitments are being implemented.

Third, ASEAN can step up practical collaboration, from early-warning systems to joint firefighting and peatland management. After all, regional frameworks already spot peat fires as the main driver of haze.

These measures would not replace Indonesia's responsibility. They would support it.

ASEAN has demonstrated that it can use diplomacy to address regional crises, including tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Environmental crises deserve similar political attention when their consequences cross borders.

Read more: Why Indonesia can't stamp out fires that have cast a haze over South-East Asia

The haze is regional, but responsibility still matters

The recurring haze exposes a broader challenge for Southeast Asia – national responsibility and regional consequences do not always fit neatly together.

Indonesia must take the lead in stopping fires within its borders. But neighbouring countries cannot simply wait for the next crisis, while ASEAN cannot treat another haze episode as business as usual.

The goal should not be to expect ASEAN to extinguish every fire. It should be to make regional cooperation strong enough that preventing those fires becomes harder to ignore.

After decades of recurring haze, Southeast Asia may not need another agreement. It needs to enforce its existing commitments, not just sign new ones.

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