Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq inaugurated the office of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACCTHPC) to reaffirm Indonesia’s commitment as a regional hub for haze control in Southeast Asia.“In 2016, Indonesia was appointed as the ACCTHPC, meaning as a coordinating hub for cross-border control efforts. Then in 2023, Indonesia ratified the agreement, and ASEAN officially designated the ACCTHPC to be based in Indonesia,” Nurofiq said here on Wednesday.Currently, he added, a protocol is being drafted, after which each country in ASEAN will carry out ratification through regulations appropriate to their respective national systems.He explained that the ACCTHPC is an initiative established by all ASEAN member states in response to increasingly severe forest fires in 1997-1998. At that time, massive fires occurred and caused haze, which significantly disrupted various sectors.“This had impacts that harmed the economy, reduced public health, and led to mutual accusations among ASEAN countries. For this reason, ASEAN established the goal of building a transboundary haze-free ASEAN. This is an agreement to jointly address the movement of haze across ASEAN,” he said.Currently, he added, Indonesia is preparing a presidential regulation (Perpres) on the ratification of this cooperation through the ASEAN coordination center, while also encouraging all ASEAN countries to implement haze control plans.“Once all parties have agreed on ratification, we will officially operate the ACCTHPC here. However, for now we will optimize efforts in handling forest and land fires in the country, because in line with the President’s instructions, the government and all parties are urged to accelerate wildfire response efforts,” he said.He emphasized that the Ministry of Environment will also inform all ASEAN member states present in Jakarta about the outcomes of the meeting while waiting for the office to become fully operational.“ASEAN coordination is very important in addressing haze issues here. Moving forward, we will mobilize all available instruments to jointly handle this issue at the regional level,” Nurofiq said.