The fires that burned in the rainforests of Indonesia in the summer of 1997 which resulted to air pollution, which affected the health of tens of millions of inhabitants, created months-long regional air pollution episode that impacted major parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as parts of Thailand and the Philippines. Through the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a Regional Haze Action Plan was formulated to address the measures to prevent fires through better management policies, enforcement, and public education. The measures were tested further, with the reemergence this spring the smoldering peat fires and the occurrence of new fires compounded by drought.
