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n June 20, haze pollution in Singapore surpassed all the country'€™s highest levels, recorded since 1997. The cause of the pollution is forest fires in Riau that have a transboundary impact.

There are at least two factors causing this problem. First are the actions of several oil palm plantation companies that use a slash-and-burn method to clear land for their plantations. This method is not sustainable as it does not rehabilitate the negative impacts on the environment.

Second is the wind that carries the haze to Singapore and Malaysia. Human beings cause the first factor, while the second factor is caused by nature. The difference between these two factors could have implications for resolving the matter, including responsibility and liability.

The first, and human, factor is under the responsibility of Indonesia. It cannot be denied that every state has the responsibility to protect the environment. The International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion Concerning the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons stressed the general obligation of states to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction and control respect the environment of other states or of areas beyond national control.

This opinion is now part of the corpus of international law relating to the environment. The general principles of international law, such as the principle of good neighborliness and sic utere tuo, ut alienum non laedas (use your own as not to injure another'€™s property) further supports such customary law. States also have the obligation to act with due diligence.

According to the International Law Commission (ILC), due diligence requires the introduction of policies, legislation and administrative controls applicable to public and private conduct that are capable of preventing or minimizing the risk of transboundary pollution. Due diligence also entails best environmental practices. There is no obligation under public international law for private entities.

The ignoring of private entities could lay the responsibility on Indonesia. If there is a violation of this international obligation, then the issue of liability arises. According to the ILC'€™s Draft on State Responsibility, states are obliged to cease the violation and to offer appropriate assurances and guarantees of non-repetition.

States also have an obligation to make full reparation for the injury caused by the violation. The injury could be in either material or moral form.

The reparation for the injury could take the form of restitution, compensation or satisfaction. Restitution is to reestablish the situation that existed before the violation, or the pre-existing condition. Compensation is to compensate for the damage caused by the violation, if restitution is not adequate. Such compensation is a financial package to cover the damage. Satisfaction is to acknowledge the violation through an expression of regret with a formal apology.

The second or natural factor, Indonesia could not fully control. The transboundary haze could be categorized as a natural disaster with an international character. This problem also has the possibility of being categorized as '€œforce majeure'€. The ILC has defined disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing significant and widespread loss for human beings and the environment.

The ILC has emphasized the importance of international cooperation in facing disasters that have an international character. According to Principle 9 of the Stockholm Declaration, environmental deficiencies generated by natural disasters pose grave problems.

The declaration calls for international cooperation through financial and technological assistance. The United Nations Economic and Social Council has also encouraged its member states and, where applicable, regional organizations to strengthen operational and legal frameworks for international disaster relief.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the perfect regional organization to establish a legal framework for mitigating this matter. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) is the main legal framework aimed at dealing with this issue. The objective of this agreement is to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution as a result of land/forest fires. This agreement also emphasizes the importance of international cooperation in mitigating transboundary haze.

There are three important principles incorporated in this agreement. First is the accordance of the agreement with the sovereign right of states to exploit their own resources pursuant to their environmental and development policies.

This right is derived from the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources. This principle was introduced by newly independent states in the 1960s amid a wave of nationalization and expropriation of foreign companies.

Second is the responsibility to ensure that a state'€™s own activities do not cause transboundary harm. This principle is already presumed to be customary international law.

The third principle is the precautionary principle. It requires states to prevent damage when there is a threat to the environment, even if there is no scientific certainty.

Forest fires can be categorized as a disaster caused by humans and nature. The resolution of this matter lies with the policies of Indonesia toward its private entities. The application of these policies remains the discretion of the Indonesian government, based on the permanent sovereignty of Indonesia over its natural resources, including the policies toward its natural resources. ASEAN also has a non-interference principle that limits foreign intervention, including between its member states.

Indonesia'€™s government has already intensified its efforts to extinguish the forest fires. However, climactic conditions are making things worse by blowing the haze across Malaysia and Singapore.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has sent a formal apology to Singapore and Malaysia, which is a form of reparation. This also means that Indonesia accepts responsibility for the problem.

The main cause of the problem is, indeed, the forest fires. However, it is the wind that has '€œinternationalized'€ the problem. The best approach to dealing with a problem with international character is through international cooperation. Malaysia and Singapore, as ASEAN member states, should along with Indonesia approach this problem in a constructive manner. Indonesia should also ratify the AATHP as soon as possible.

The reparation for the injury could take the form of restitution, compensation or satisfaction.

The writer is a student on the LLM program in international law and the law of international organizations, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.