Smoke from land clearing fires in Indonesia causes hazardous haze pollution in South East Asia every year. Record high levels of air pollution caused by haze were reached in June 2013 in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In response to regional pressure after the latest haze crisis, Indonesia has finally agreed to adopt the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution from 2002. However, given the pact's weak compliance provisions, will the ratification really be a game-changer in South East Asia's struggle with haze?

In June 2013 South East Asia was suffocating in a cloud of record-breaking haze pollution. The haze, toxic smog caused by fires to clear land for agriculture in Sumatra, Indonesia, exceeded almost three times the hazardous limit for air quality. For a week the most affected areas of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia resembled a post-apocalyptic scene people only dared go out with face masks, schools were closed, the economy took a hit as businesses suspended work, events were cancelled, tourists stayed clear of the area and hospitals faced a surge of respiratory illnesses. The fires also impact climate change because they produce large amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the burning of carbon-rich peatland and forests. To illustrate the magnitude of the problem: the land-clearing fires which cause transboundary haze are also the biggest contributor to Indonesias overall GHG emissions. 2013 may have been the worst haze crisis in the region's recorded history, but similar occurrences are the norm during 'haze season' every year since the 1980s.

In 2002, ASEAN member countries addressed the environmental issue by adopting the world's first regional agreement against haze the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The Agreement is a legally binding regional environmental treaty that aims to prevent and mitigate haze pollution 'through concerted national efforts and intensified regional and international cooperation'. Unfortunately, two big problems reduce the effectiveness of the Agreement. The first is that Indonesia, the only ASEAN member state yet to ratify the Agreement, is also the main polluter. The second problem concerns the design of the Agreement, which has a weak mechanism for dispute settlement and punishing non-compliance. The Agreement does not prescribe specific sanctions against a signatory country that has infringed its obligations. Instead, Article 27 of the Agreement feebly states that any disputes over non-compliance 'shall be settled amicably by consultation or negotiation'. In other words, enforcing the Agreement, even over countries that have ratified it, remains a matter of diplomacy, rather than law. It would not provide suffering countries and people with new legal remedies in future outbreaks of haze pollution.

The fact that the transboundary haze problem is not resolved for almost three decades is a testament to the complexity and magnitude of the interests and issues behind it.

Smog in Kuala Lumpur image via Shutterstock.

Read more at ENN Affiliate, WorldWatch Institute.

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Hope on reducing air pollution in South East Asia

Assink Excavations Land Clearing
Assink Excavations were hired to clear some land and move a stockpile.

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Assink Excavations Land Clearing - Video

Low Country Land Clearing
http://www.dexknows.com/business_profiles/low_country_land_clearing-b211652 Low Country Land Clearing is here to prepare your land for your next project. Amo...

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Low Country Land Clearing - Video

Updated: Thursday, April 17 2014, 07:33 PM EDT

Irondequoit, N.Y.-- Chopping down trees and clearing the debris is not new for Al Gilbert.

"We always just cut them down," said the 88-year-old businessman.

In early December he began having roughly 200 trees, mostly Cottonwood, cleared from a one acre piece of land that rests yards from Voyager Marina and underneath the O'Rourke Bridge in Irondequoit.

"Mr. Gilbert has said he did not know that it was an E.P.O.D.," said Ray McDonald, a member of the Planning Board. "An environmentally protected overlay district--which is on his taxes."

Gilbert contends he did not know prior to being told by town leaders.

"I thought it was an i-pod first, I said, no that has something to do with telephone's first, not trees," said Gilbert.

Town Development Director Nicholas Weatherbee said another mistake Gilbert made was not getting town approval before cutting down the trees. With a simple permit, Weatherbee said, the trees could have been cut without violating town code.

Gilbert said had he known, he would not have cut trees from his own property.

The reason for doing so, however, is twofold.

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Owner fined for clearing own trees

Land Clearing, Kubota SVL 90-2 w/ Bradco Ground Shark
Short video mix of the Bota with the cutter head.

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Land Clearing, Kubota SVL 90-2 w/ Bradco Ground Shark - Video

Clearing the decks for the expansion of Jamia Millia Islamia, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Delhi government to acquire about 107 bighas (approximately 26 hectares) of prime land in Okhla village in south Delhi.

The case pertains to 214 bighas of land in Okhla village that Delhi government wanted to acquire for the expansion of the 92-year-old university, one of India's oldest.

The city government had initiated the process a few months ago, but the Uttar Pradesh government objected to this, contending the land belonged to the state.

The court had in January stopped the acquisition process and ordered the maintenance of status quo.

"We contended before the court that the land belonged to the union government and that Jamia, being a central university, needs the land for its expansion," said Atyab Siddiqui, the varsity's standing counsel.

"The court modified its earlier order and allowed the acquisition of about 107 bighas of land. The rest of the 107 bighas would remain under judicial restrainment," Siddiqui added.

The Uttar Pradesh government had contended that it owned the entire area of a little over 214 bighas.

"The order has given a boost to Jamia's expansion plans. Currently, we are hard pressed for the space and there is hardly any space left for expansion," Jamia Millia Islamia media coordinator Mukesh Ranjan told IANS.

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SC allows Delhi govt to acquire land for Jamia's expansion

Anger at increase in flytipping in Little Horton, Bradford

6:00am Wednesday 16th April 2014 in News By Rob Lowson, T&A Reporter

The owner of private land blighted by flytippers has been served notice to clear it by Bradford Council.

Residents have been left angered at mounting levels of rubbish being dumped by their homes behind Chislehurst Place and Pennington Terrace, Little Horton, Bradford.

And they fear no-one is taking responsibilty to deal with it.

Ian Thompson, of Chislehurst Place, said: Its absolutely disgusting out there.

I open my curtains and thats the first and only thing I see. At the moment, it is the worst its ever been.

The Council used to clear up the area every few months, but I spoke to them recently and they said they dont know who owns the land and theyve no intention of clearing it.

Mr Thompson said an increasing amount of old furniture and white goods had been dumped at the site in recent months, which he feels now poses a health and safety hazard.

Someone obviously had new windows fitted a few weeks ago and theyve just dumped all the old stuff here, he said. Since then everyone else has been dumping their rubbish too. It gets worse every day.

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VIDEO: Anger at increase in flytipping in Little Horton, Bradford

Land Clearing Kubota SVL 90-2, Bradco Ground Shark
Light Clearing in Central Texas with a Kubota SVL 90-2 and a Bradco Ground Shark forestry cutter.

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Land Clearing Kubota SVL 90-2, Bradco Ground Shark - Video

Updated: Sunday, April 13 2014, 08:55 PM MDT

By: Stacey Welsh

EL PASO, Texas -- About 400 acres of land where Asarco used to stand are up for grabs a year after demolition. The Texas Custodial Trust owns the land and is looking for a buyer.

As KFOX14 previously reported, crews are clearing out any contamination from the land that could have traces of arsenic and lead. There are also plans to collect the waste in a giant waste cell and close it off from the public.

"[The University of Texas at El Paso] does have an environmental engineering department and they could use those components as kind of a living laboratory for the students," site trustee Roberto Puga said.

Puga said UTEP could be an ideal buyer for the land, and the university confirmed it is interested in buying the land closest to campus.

Students told KFOX14 studying the former Asarco site could help UTEP become one of the best research universities in the country.

"They would gain more accessibility to maybe research or grants," UTEP senior Taylor Harmon said.

Harmon studies biochemistry and said new labs could motivate more students to study science.

"The more recruitment of students to these labs is going to guarantee more innovation in the future as far as research science and innovation along the border," Harmon said.

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Possible buyers show interest in former Asarco site

Minecraft: REoL TOUGH City Server: Baseball Stadium, Part 1: Land Clearing (Sort-Of)
REMEMBER: Comments ARE MONITORED. Think, THEN post. OK? 🙂 In this new series, you get to watch a baseball stadium being built, starting with land clearing. ...

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Minecraft: REoL TOUGH City Server: Baseball Stadium, Part 1: Land Clearing (Sort-Of) - Video