ASEAN, officially an abbreviation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia. It has a population of over 600 million and covers an area of 4.5 million km2 (1.7 million sq mi). ASEAN generated a purchasing power parity (PPP) gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$10.2 trillion in 2022, constituting approximately 6.5% of global GDP (PPP).
Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification of particulates causing horizontal obscuration into categories of fog, ice fog, steam fog, mist, haze, smoke, volcanic ash, dust, sand, and snow. Sources for particles that cause haze include farming, traffic, industry, windy weather, volcanic activity and wildfires. Seen from afar and depending on the direction of view with respect to the Sun, haze may appear brownish or bluish, while mist tends to be bluish grey instead. Whereas haze often is considered a phenomenon occurring in dry air, mist formation is a phenomenon in saturated, humid air. However, haze particles may act as condensation nuclei that leads to the subsequent vapor condensation and formation of mist droplets; such forms of haze are known as "wet haze".
Environmental issues in Indonesia are associated with the country's high population density and rapid industrialisation, and they are often given a lower priority due to high poverty levels, and an under-resourced governance.
The 2006 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution event caused by continuous, uncontrolled burning from "slash and burn" cultivation in Indonesia, which affected several countries in the Southeast Asian region and beyond, including Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, and as far away as Saipan; the effects of the haze may have even spread to South Korea. Local sources of industrial pollution also, inadvertently, contributed to increases in air toxicity ; notably at-risk areas included communities close to textile factories, fertilizer plants, meat-packing plants, industrialised dairy farms, shipping ports, and oil refineries. Air quality was lower, overall, for residents of more densely-populated cities. In the highly urban and industrialised Klang Valley of Malaysia, in particular, the surrounding elevated terrain acted as a natural retainer of polluted air, aggravating the situation as the haze set in.
The 1997 Southeast Asian haze was an international air pollution disaster that occurred during the second half of 1997, its after-effects causing widespread atmospheric visibility and health problems within Southeast Asia. Considered the most severe Southeast Asian haze event of all time, the total costs of the 1997 haze are estimated at US$9 billion, due mainly to health care and disruption of air travel and business activities.
The Southeast Asian haze is a fire-related recurrent transboundary air pollution issue. Haze events, where air quality reaches hazardous levels due to high concentrations of airborne particulate matter from burning biomass, have caused adverse health, environmental and economic impacts in several countries in Southeast Asia. Caused primarily by slash-and-burn land clearing, the problem flares up every dry season to varying degrees and generally is worst between July and October and during El Niño events. Transboundary haze in Southeast Asia has been recorded since 1972 with the 1997 and 2015 events being particularly severe.
The 1997 group of forest fires in Indonesia that lasted well into 1998 were probably among the two or three, if not the largest, forest fires group in the last two centuries of recorded history.
The 2009 Southeast Asian haze was an episode of large scale air pollution primarily caused by slash and burn practices used to clear land for agricultural purposes in Sumatra, Indonesia. It affected the areas surrounding the Straits of Malacca which besides Indonesia include Malaysia and Singapore.
Air pollution has been an ongoing problem in many countries in the Southeast Asia region, and Malaysia is one of the worst affected. Haze has been a major issue for the country, driven by slash and burn practices by farmers and peat fires blown by the wind from Indonesia.
ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) are selected protected areas in the ASEAN region that are known for their unique biodiversity and ecosystems, wilderness and outstanding values in scenic, cultural, educational, research, recreational and tourism. Its vision is "An ASEAN region whose biological is conserved, sustainably managed and used, and equitably shared for the well-being of its peoples." The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in the Philippines serves as the secretariat of the ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme.
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 2006. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
Indonesia and Singapore established diplomatic relations ) on 7 September 1967, a month after the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 8 August 1967. Indonesia and Singapore are two of the five founding members of ASEAN. Both nations are also members of the Non-Aligned Movement and APEC.
The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was a haze crisis that affected several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand, mainly during June and July 2013. The haze period was caused by large-scale burning in many parts of Sumatra and Borneo. Satellite imagery from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites showed that the haze was mainly due to smoke from fires burning in Riau province, Indonesia.
The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.
The Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014 (THPA) is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes conduct which causes or contributes to haze pollution in Singapore, and to provide for related matters such as deterrence. The law is designed specifically to allow legal in suing companies for environmental pollution.
The 2016 Southeast Asian Haze was a transnational haze crisis which is a recurring problem with transboundary air pollution brought on by fires. The 2016 haze that took place affected several countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It brought negative effects towards the environment and brought an impact on people's health and the economy.
People's Movement to Stop Haze (PM.Haze) is a non-governmental organisation based in Singapore. It was founded in 2014 in response to the 2013 Southeast Asian haze, which has been recognised as one of the most serious haze episodes in over 16 years. PM.Haze started its work with an investigative research project to fire-prone areas in Riau Province, Indonesia and identified peatland degradation due to mismanagement of concession lands by irresponsible companies as the fundamental cause of the fires in the areas and the resulting transboundary haze pollution. In 2016, it became registered as a society. In 2017, it underwent a rebranding exercise and adopted a new logo to symbolise a constant flow for fresh, clean air with an arrow pointed upward to represent constructive action towards this. PM.Haze was mentioned by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli as he delivered Singapore's national statement at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi in December 2017.
The 2010 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis which affected many Southeast Asia countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore during the month of October in 2010.
A trans-national air pollution crisis affected several countries in Southeast Asia from February to September 2019, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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