1. The Twenty-first Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution (21^st?MSC) was held on 6 August 2019 in Brunei Darussalam, and attended by Ministers/representatives responsible for the environment, for land, forest fires and haze, from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN. The Twenty-first Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Transboundary Haze Pollution (21^st?TWG) preceded the Meeting.
2. The Ministers noted the weather outlook information presented by the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) for this dry season, that drier and warmer conditions in the southern ASEAN region were expected between August and October 2019. In addition, neutral (neither El-Nio nor La-Nia) conditions were forecast. The drier and warmer weather could lead to an escalation of hotspot activities and increase the risk of transboundary haze occurrence in the region. MSC countries pledged to remain vigilant and to monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze during periods of drier weather.

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1. The Eighth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (8 MSC Mekong) was held on 24 May 2019 in Siem Reap, Cambodia and opened by H.E. Say Samal, Minister of Environment of Cambodia. The Meeting was attended by Ministers/representatives responsible for land, forest fires and haze from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, under the Chairpersonship of H.E Sao Sopheap, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia. The Fourteenth Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (14th TWG Mekong) preceded the Meeting.

2. The Ministers expressed concern over the recent dry season and transboundary haze pollution affecting the northern ASEAN region and expressed sympathy to the people affected by the haze. The Ministers noted and appreciated the collaborative efforts undertaken by the respective MSC Mekong countries to address the forest fires and the associated smoke haze.

3. The Ministers noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centres (ASMCs) review and outlook of the weather and smoke haze situation for the Mekong subregion. The Meeting noted that hotspot activities are expected to be generally subdued in the coming months as the rainy season sets in with the transition to Southwest Monsoon conditions in June 2019. Near-normal to below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures are expected for the Mekong sub-region in June and July. Toward the end of the year, there may be a gradual increase in hotspot activities as the dry season sets in with the Northeast Monsoon. There have been signs of El-Nio conditions developing in recent months, and global climate models from international climate centres have forecast a 50 ? 75% chance of an El Nio in the second half of 2019. The MSC Mekong countries agreed to remain vigilant and take preventive measures and immediate fire suppression procedures to mitigate land and forest fires and to minimise the occurrence of transboundary haze during periods of drier weather.

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1. Ministers responsible for the environment, for land, forest fires and haze, from ASEAN Member States (AMS), held their 14^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution on 5 October 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

2. The Ministers reviewed the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) and reaffirmed their commitment through concerted national efforts and regional cooperation to fully and effectively implement the AATHP and the Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation to achieve a Haze-Free ASEAN by 2020. The Ministers commended the various initiatives and actions undertaken by ASEAN Member States and noted with appreciation the continuous efforts in strengthening national capabilities and regional cooperation in assessment, prevention, mitigation and management of land and/or forest fires and the resulting haze.

3. The Ministers were updated on the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centres (ASMC’s) review and outlook of the weather and smoke haze situation for the ASEAN region. The Ministers noted ASMC’s update that models from major climate centres forecast a 70% chance of weak El Nino conditions developing toward the end of the year while current conditions remained neutral (neither El Nino nor La Nina). In terms of weather outlook, the onset of the Northeast Monsoon in the coming months is expected bring a transition to the traditional dry season in the northern ASEAN region, and conversely a transition to the traditional rainy season in the southern ASEAN region. Rainfall is expected to be below-normal and near-normal for the northern and southern ASEAN regions respectively, and temperature is forecast to be above-normal across the region. A gradual increase in hotspot activities can be expected in the northern ASEAN region with the transition to the dry season. In the southern ASEAN region, sporadic increases in hotspot activities can still be expected during dry periods in the coming weeks. With the onset of the traditional rainy season in November 2018, an increase in shower activities are expected to help keep hotspot activities subdued. The Ministers urged AMS to remain vigilant and continuously monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires during periods of drier weather.

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29 August 2018, Da Nang City, Viet Nam

1. The Seventh Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (7^th MSC Mekong) was held on 29 August 2018 in Da Nang City, Viet Nam and attended by Ministers/representatives responsible for land, forest fires and haze from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs. The Thirteenth Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (13^th TWG Mekong) preceded the Meeting.
2. The Meeting noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centres (ASMCs) review and outlook of the weather and smoke haze situation from September to December 2018 for the Mekong Sub-Region. The Meeting also noted ASMCs forecast of the prevailing rainy conditions to persist until November 2018, before a transition to the traditional dry season with the onset of the Northeast Monsoon. Rainfall is expected to be near-normal, while temperature is forecast to be slightly above-normal in the coming months. The prevailing neutral (neither El Nio or La Nia) conditions are forecast to continue till October 2018, but there is a 60-70% chance of weak to moderate El Nio conditions developing towards the end of the year. Hotspot activities are expected to be generally subdued during the rainy season, but a gradual increase in hotspot activities can be expected in the region with the transition to the dry season. The MSC Mekong countries agreed to continue to be vigilant and take preventive measures and immediate fire suppression procedures to mitigate land and forest fires and to minimise the occurrence of transboundary haze during periods of drier weather.

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1 June 2018, Bangkok, Thailand.

• The Twentieth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution (20^th MSC) was held on 1 June 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand, and attended by Ministers/representatives responsible for the environment, for land, forest fires and haze, from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN. The Twentieth Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Transboundary Haze Pollution (20^th TWG) preceded the Meeting.

• The Ministers noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre’s (ASMC’s) weather outlook that the dry season in the southern ASEAN region was expected between June and October 2018, during which neither El-Nio nor La-Nia condition was forecast. During the season, occasional dry periods could result in an increase in the risk of hotspot activities in the region. MSC countries pledged to remain vigilant and to monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze during periods of drier weather.

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ASEAN Programme on Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems 2014-2020

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11 August 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

1. Ministers responsible for the environment from ASEAN Member States (AMS) held their 12th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-12 AATHP) on 11 August 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2. The Ministers reaffirmed the commitment to effectively implement the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution resulting from land and forest fires through concerted national efforts and regional cooperation. The Ministers also commended the significant progress in the implementation of activities/programmes of the Agreement, among others, the progress in the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) and the proposed study on the economic, health and social impact of haze in 2015 in the ASEAN region.
3. The Ministers adopted the Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation. The Roadmap will serve as a strategic framework for the implementation of the collaborative actions to control transboundary haze pollution in the ASEAN region to achieve a vision of Transboundary Haze-free ASEAN by 2020.
4. The Ministers noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre’s (ASMC’s) weather outlook for the ASEAN region for the coming months, in particular, the prevailing Neutral (neither El Nino nor La Nina) conditions and the chance of La Nina conditions developing in the third quarter of 2016. Rainfall was expected to be normal to above normal however, it was also noted that periods of drier weather can still be expected during the peak of the traditional dry season in the southern ASEAN region between August and September 2016. The AMS pledged to remain vigilant and continuously monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires in anticipation of the drier weather in the southern ASEAN region in the next few months.
5. In view of the predicted regional weather and haze outlook, the Ministers urged AMS to remain vigilant and continuously monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires in anticipation of the drier weather in the next few months.
6. The Ministers underlined the need for AMS to place priority and commitment to resolve the haze problem within the expected targets and timelines as adopted in countries’ action plan.
7. The Ministers noted the significant progress by AMS on the operationalization of Alert Levels and Trigger Points for Fire Prevention and Suppression under the revised Standard Operating Procedure for Monitoring, Assessment and Joint Emergency Response as to prevent recurrence of transboundary haze pollution.
8. The Ministers reaffirmed their endorsement of Indonesia’s intention to host the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) and further mandated Indonesia to continue to work on the draft of Establishment Agreement of the ACC THPC.
9. The Ministers called for AMS to utilise the mechanism under the AATHP to mobilise the Panel of ASEAN Experts on Fire and Haze Assessment and Coordination to assess the fire situation on the ground and further recommend the external fire assistance required.
10. The Ministers noted that majority of ASEAN Member States have contributed to the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Control Fund towards realising the pledge of providing an initial seed contribution of US$500,000 for the Fund. The Ministers welcomed contributions from other partners to the Fund.
11. The Ministers noted the substantive progress of the development of the successor ASEAN Programme on Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems – APSMPE (2014-2020), and the encouraging response and support from ASEAN dialogue and development partners. The Ministers renewed their commitment to implement this regional Programme through ASEAN mechanisms, enhanced national level efforts and multi-stakeholder partnership.
12. The Ministers noted the initiatives by Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution (MSC) countries to take the necessary actions in order to operationalise the ASEAN Sub-regional Haze Monitoring System (HMS). In the meantime, the Ministers encouraged MSC countries to share information on hotspots that cause transboundary haze on Government-to-Government basis.
13. The Ministers responsible for the environment will meet again in 2017 in Brunei Darussalam on the occasion of the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-13).

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