Law to tackle transboundary haze necessary to ensure clean air

KUALA LUMPUR - For people with respiratory problems and allergies, it is bad news when the outdoor air quality drops and hazy conditions set in.

But, more worryingly, international studies and observational evidences also point to air pollutants as "risk factors” for a variety of mental health issues.

In view of its increasing impact on human health and well-being, local experts have reiterated their calls to the government to enact legislation such as the Transboundary Haze Act and Clean Air Act to reduce air/haze pollution through mandatory adherence to globally recognised ambient air quality standards.

According to the fifth edition of the State of Global Air Report by the United States-based Health Effects Institute published on June 19 this year, air pollution has become the "second leading global risk factor for death” and accounted for 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, according to the United Kingdom-based Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change data sheet 2024 released on Oct 30 this year - which reveals the health threats of climate change through more than 50 peer-reviewed indicators - about 19,100 deaths were attributable to anthropogenic air pollution in 2021. (Anthropogenic air pollution refers to pollution caused by human activity.)

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

Sunway University’s Sunway Centre for Planetary Health adjunct professor Dr Amir Hamzah Abdul Latiff said climate change and rising temperatures are amplifying health risks, especially for children and people with respiratory and immune-related conditions.

"As air quality worsens, we are seeing increasing cases of heat-related illnesses, allergies and respiratory disease in young patients,” said Dr Amir Hamzah, who is also a senior consultant in clinical immunology, allergy and paediatrics at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Urging the authorities to fortify the nation’s healthcare systems against the growing threat, he said addressing these impacts in Malaysia and across Asia requires "urgent, climate-informed healthcare interventions and policies that protect the youngest and most susceptible among us”.

Commenting on a report in the British Journal of Psychiatry that poor air quality may affect mental health and even lead to depression, anxiety, psychosis and perhaps even neurocognitive disorders such as dementia, mental health practitioner Jolene Tan said when air pollution levels are high, people tend to remain indoors which can cause them to feel isolated and depressed, especially if they are used to leading an active lifestyle.

"On top of that, the discomfort from the haze, like breathing issues or itchy eyes, can affect one’s sleep and mood, causing them to feel anxious and less energetic over time.

"These mental health effects are part of how pollution impacts us, even if we don’t always notice the link,” said Tan, who is also the founder of sustainability non-governmental organisation (NGO) GreenWeiVe.

According to Monash University Malaysia environmental psychological expert Dr Ooi Wee Liam, people breathing polluted air experience changes within the brain regions that control emotions.

"As a result, they may be more likely to develop anxiety and depression than those breathing cleaner air,” he said.

Warning that air pollution and mental health are major challenges the world must grapple with now and for years to come, Ooi said some international observational evidences have implicated outdoor air pollutants as risk factors for a variety of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, personality disorders and schizophrenia.

"They found that people living in areas with higher particle pollution, such as urban areas, had a greater chance of developing schizophrenia, depression and anxiety disorders,” he said.

RIGHT TO CLEAN AIR

As for calls to enact laws to address Malaysia’s deteriorating air quality, especially when the haze occurs due to forest burning activities abroad, Greenpeace Southeast Asia regional campaign strategist Heng Kiah Chun said plantation companies that allegedly burn forests to clear land must be held accountable for the resulting haze.

"It is necessary to enact a Transboundary Haze Act as it will serve as a deterrent since there are bad apples in the (plantation) industry. It can provide legal grounds for each country (in Southeast Asia) to institutionalise checks and balances to ensure their own companies operate responsibly,” he said.

He also lauded the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) report titled ‘Silent Enemy: Report on Haze Pollution and the Right to Clean Air’, launched on Sept 26, 2024.

Heng said the report has, among other things, proposed a Clean Air Act complete with mechanisms to tackle transboundary haze pollution in Malaysia.

"The proposed Clean Air Act will provide the much-needed ‘framework’ law that is important in addressing transboundary haze and various sources of air pollution including businesses and factories, through mandatory adherence to globally recognised ambient air quality standards.

"It will also empower the government to hold citizens and businesses domiciled in Malaysia that contribute to transboundary air pollution accountable through the Malaysian criminal and civil justice systems,” he added.

STRENGTHEN LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Suhakam vice chairman Tengku Mohamed Fauzi Tengku Abdul Hamid said the Suhakam report also lays out five recommendations to amend Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and the Rules of Court 2012 to improve access to environmental justice.

The report also recommends that the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) be improved to strengthen the rule of law in ASEAN, accelerate the development of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

"As Malaysia will be the ASEAN Chair in 2025, (it will be seen as) a good step (for our government) to take the lead at the ASEAN level to propose the development of a protocol to the AATHP to establish a legally binding commitment by each member state to enact domestic legislation to hold to account its citizens and corporations for their contribution to land and forest fires,” he said.

(AATHP is a legally binding environmental agreement signed in 2002 by ASEAN member states to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia.)

Tengku Mohamed Fauzi added the recommendations outlined in their report are aimed at addressing the gaps in the legal framework relating to haze and other forms of air pollution.

"Reiterating a key takeaway from the report, air pollution cannot be addressed in isolation, neither can air quality be improved and protected by changes in the legal system alone.

"The right to clean air can only be protected through an integrated, all-of-government and all-of-society approach to development,” he said, adding Suhakam will table its report in Parliament at the next meeting.

CERAH Malaysia member and Bar Council environment and climate change committee chairman Kiu Jia Yaw said the Suhakam report can also be used to validate problem statements related to air pollution and haze, as well as support the advocacy work of NGOs.

To improve the regional governance of transboundary haze pollution, Kiu also proposed the addition of a protocol to AATHP where all ASEAN member states commit to enacting their own domestic legislation to hold their own companies accountable for any involvement in air pollution overseas.

"With each ASEAN country making reciprocating commitments to hold their own businesses to account, we would be able to protect everyone’s right to a clean and healthy environment without interfering with the issue of sovereignty,” he said, adding the domestic legislation would therefore be unlike Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act which purports to have extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Kiu said Indonesia revealed, in 2023, that 203 companies were issued warnings and 20 companies ordered to shut down due to their involvement in forest fires. These companies included subsidiaries of Malaysian companies.

"If any of those subsidiaries were indeed related to Malaysian companies, the Malaysian government could summon them to explain the allegations of fires on their concession lands and provide relevant sustainability data,” he said. - BERNAMA