The Programme on “Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia” or MAHFSA is a five-year joint initiative between ASEAN and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to support efforts to reduce transboundary haze pollution and its impact in Southeast Asia.
Building on the IFAD-Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported ASEAN Peatland Forests Project (APFP 2009-2014), MAHFSA seeks to strengthen existing ASEAN regional coordination mechanisms to facilitate a more harmonised response to tackling the transboundary haze pollution problem and for promoting sustainable forest management and peatland conservation.
MAHFSA is systematising data and information management and operationalising a flexible regional coordination platform for building capacity, harmonising programmes, and projects, coordinating activities of stakeholders engaged in combating haze, and channelling multiple sources of finance to address the haze challenge.
MAHFSA also supports the review of the implementation of the Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards the Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation (Haze-Free Roadmap), as well as develop and operationalise the 10-year investment framework that will enable enhanced and coordinated implementation of haze and peatlands projects/programmes towards the haze-free ASEAN.
The expected outcomes of MAHFSA are:
- Strengthened capacity of ASEAN to use information and results management systems for sustainable land and haze management;
- Improved availability and usage of knowledge products on peatland and haze management; and
- Enhanced ASEAN regional multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms and partnerships related to sustainable land and haze management.
Total budget of MAHFSA is USD 3.5 million for a duration of 60 months (2019-2024), and is implemented collaboratively by the ASEAN Secretariat, Global Environment Centre (GEC), and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
