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JAMBI, Sumatra: Five Southeast Asian countries have expressed confidence that they are now more prepared to deal with the haze that envelopes the region annually.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand say they are on top of the haze situation this year.
Since last October, their environment ministers and officials have held three meetings, including the latest in Jambi, Sumatra.
The series of intense discussions were prompted by the worst haze to envelope the region in almost a decade.
Indonesia's Environment Minister said that well before the dry season starts in about a month from now, his country has already put in place preventive measures.
"The prevention is being done, has been done and will be done... and the extinguishing of the fire will be done... in the initial stages, so that it does not blow out of control," said Rahmat Witoelar, Indonesian Environment Minister.
This year, the Jakarta government has set aside some US$80 million to prevent and suppress land and forest fires - the main cause of the annual haze.
It is determined to halve the 100,000 hotspots found in the country's forests and plantations last year.
"I think this is a very good development compared to six or seven months ago. By that measure, I'm very happy with the development. What we're looking forward to now is the implementation of the master plan," said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore's Minister for Environment and Water Resources.
Singapore has developed a haze prevention master plan for Muara Jambi in Sumatra, a regency with a vast area of peat land that easily catches fire during the dry spell.
The plan is ready for implementation once the Indonesian government gives the go-ahead.
"From day one they've been working with us together on the master plan. I think they just want to understand the details, how it fits into Indonesia's Plan of Action. And there are other ministries involved - the forestry ministry, the agriculture ministry," said Dr Ibrahim.
Malaysia is working on a similar plan to help the Riau province in Sumatra tackle the haze problem.
Among the plantations in Indonesia, blamed for starting fires by clearing land using the slash and burn method, several were Malaysian owned.
With Indonesia's action plan beginning to kick in and assistance from neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia soon to follow, environment officials are upbeat about this year's haze situation.
While there are no promises of fire-free areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan, there is certainly confidence that there will be no repeat of last year's haze that choked the region. - CNA/yy
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