ASEAN and the EU have agreed to cooperate in managing peatlands and combating cross-boundary haze pollution in order to prevent a recurrence of last year’s disastrous forest fires that ended up severely affecting the wider region.

Franck Viault, the head of cooperation at the delegation of the EU to Indonesia, said on Wednesday that about €24 million (US$26.9 million) in funds had been set aside to finance the Regional Peatlands program. The EU will provide €20 million while co-financier Germany will provide the rest of the money.

“It [the program] is to be implemented next year. It is to be implemented in all ASEAN member states, but with specific focus in Indonesia and Malaysia because you have the majority of peatland areas,” Viault told The Jakarta Post, adding that most of the haze also emanated from these two countries, and “first and foremost from Indone...