Jakarta, October 11, 2026 – The Indonesian government has reaffirmed its commitment to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), underscoring its continued engagement in regional efforts to address forest and land fires and their cross-border haze impacts.
Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela emphasized that Indonesia takes forest and land fires seriously and will continue to engage constructively with fellow ASEAN Member States.
The AATHP serves as the main regional framework for addressing transboundary haze pollution. It provides for an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties to be convened when the conditions stipulated under the Agreement are met.
One such condition is a written request from one Party supported by at least one other Party.
“Regardless of whether such a request has been made, Indonesia remains fully committed to the Agreement and will continue to engage constructively with fellow ASEAN Member States through the available mechanisms,” Vahd said on Sunday (11/10).
Indonesia ratified the legally binding regional agreement in 2014. The AATHP aims to strengthen regional cooperation in monitoring, preventing, and controlling transboundary haze pollution resulting from forest and land fires.
In line with this commitment, Indonesia continues to implement measures to address forest and land fires and mitigate their cross-border impacts.
“The Indonesian government takes the issue of forest and land fires seriously. Necessary measures are taken continuously, to address the problem and its cross-border impacts,” Vahd emphasized.
He explained that response measures have been undertaken since the early stages of the fires, including ground-based and aerial firefighting operations, water bombing, weather modification, and law enforcement against violations related to forest and land fires.
According to the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), approximately 53,848 personnel from military and civilian agencies have been deployed to support fire mitigation efforts.
As of October 11, 2026, BNPB reported that government mitigation efforts had successfully extinguished fires across 538.1 hectares of land. Meanwhile, firefighting operations, as of today, are targeting an additional 132.38 hectares of fire-affected land through ground-based and aerial operations.
“The National Agency for Disaster Management leads these efforts in coordination with local government authorities,” Vahd said.
At the Southeast Asia level, Alert Level 3 has been in effect since August 26, as indicated by the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC).
The widespread haze and deteriorating air quality, which have reached unhealthy to hazardous levels in affected areas, have also been associated with prolonged dry conditions and El Niño-related weather patterns.
In response to these conditions, the alert calls for extensive national emergency response measures and intensified Southeast Asia regional coordination to address transboundary haze pollution.
Under ASEAN’s regional response framework, Member States are expected to provide regular updates on the haze situation and firefighting measures, including situation reports and haze trajectory maps.
These reporting and coordination mechanisms support regional monitoring and cooperation in addressing transboundary haze pollution, consistent with the AATHP framework’s emphasis on consensus-based joint action rather than mandatory punitive or financial penalties.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is scheduled to host the 21st Committee (COM) meeting under the AATHP Conference of the Parties this December. Member States are expected to review regional cooperation and proposals, including Malaysia’s initiatives on Science Diplomacy and the Sustainable Haze Fund, which aims to provide sustainable and reliable funding for regional fire prevention and haze management efforts.
