Members of the Parliamentary Commission on the Environment told Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban that they would not support the ratification of the 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze unless the problem of illegal logging was also addressed by member countries.

Legislator Alvin Lie told a hearing with Mr Kaban on Thursday that the agreement would only benefit other members of Asean and would not serve the interests of Indonesia.

The pact obliges Asean countries to cooperate in implementing measures to prevent, monitor and mitigate haze pollution by controlling sources of land and forest fires, establishing early warning systems, exchanging information and technology, and providing mutual assistance.

Member countries are also obliged to respond promptly when a state requests information or is affected by such haze originating from within their territories.

If Indonesia ratifies the pact, the government would have to amend many of its regulations on pollution by adding a clause on zero-burning and controlled-burning practices.

The pact was signed by all Asean countries in 2002 and went into effect a year later. Only the Philippines and Indonesia have yet to ratify it.

Mr Lie, of the National Mandate Party, told The Straits Times that all factions in Parliament rejected the treaty because it failed to address Indonesia's main concern - illegal logging.

He said some Malaysian companies were involved in illegal logging in Indonesia, with tonnes of wood being shipped to the country. 'Illegal logging is rampant in Indonesia and has been the root cause of many of the forest fires that caused the haze in the region,' he said.

He suggested that a way out could be a parallel agreement on illegal logging, where member countries would be bound to help Indonesia combat the problem.

'While Asean members have been pushing us to ratify the agreement, they have failed to consider our demand to include provisions on transboundary illegal logging, which has been plaguing our country,' he said.

Legislator Nizar Dahlan of the Democracy Pioneer Star Party said that any measures to control haze should include efforts to combat illegal logging because 'they are two sides of the same coin'.

Since 1997, peat and forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra and Borneo islands have triggered a choking haze billowing across the region to Singapore, Malaysia and parts of Thailand.

Meanwhile, dozens of mining companies could benefit from a decision to allow firms that previously held exploration permits in forest areas to develop mines, a top Indonesian official told Reuters yesterday.

The government issued a decree last month allowing mining companies to pay between 1.8 million rupiah (S$61,400) and 2.4 million rupiah per hectare for forest land used for roads, mine sites and waste dumps.

It applies to 13 mining companies that four years ago were allowed to resume operations in forest areas after proving that their projects were economically viable.

But Mr Simon Sembiring, director-general of mineral resources at the Energy and Mines Ministry, said that other mining companies, which had permits before a forestry law was issued in 1999, could also be eligible for similar permits.

salim@sph.com.sg