AlHijjah 4, 1434, Oct 9, 2013, SPA -- South-East Asian leaders agreed Wednesday to adopt a new system to improve the monitoring of the haze that chokes Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia annually, DPA reported. Singapore Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the leaders of the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) approved the haze monitoring system that requires sharing of digitized land-use maps and concession maps of fire-prone areas. "We hope the respective ministries will upload the digitized concession maps as soon as possible," he said on his official Facebook page. "It will send a strong signal to all companies that they will be held accountable." Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore suffered the worst level of haze this year from forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which often occur in the dry months from June to September. In addition to accidental peat fires, fires are started illegally by plantation owners to clear land quickly and cheaply for agricultural use. The pollution is estimated to have caused billion of dollars of economic losses to the three countries due to business closures, increased health care costs and drops in tourism earnings.
