SINGAPORE (Agencies) - A ministerial meeting on haze pollution in Southeast Asia on Wednesday agreed to ban all open burning in the region, in anticipation of the El Nino hot weather condition exacerbating in the last quarter of the year.

The Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution which met here, also agreed to suspend permits for prescribed burning activities in fire-prone areas such as in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim told a media conference after the half-day meeting that MSC was concerned after the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre reported that the prevailing weak El Nino phenomenon was forecast to intensify to a moderate to strong condition by the end of this year.

Saying the El Nino was likely to worsen and prolong the current dry spell in the region till October, he said the MSC expected there would be continued increase in hotspot activities in the fire-prone areas in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sarawak over the next few months.

The MSC noted that this was likely to lead to more incidences of transboundary smoke haze pollution in the region, the minister said.

For years, Indonesia had faced criticism from its neighbours for not doing enough to fight the fires set by locals and companies with oil-palm plantations.

The ministers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia "noted the enhanced efforts" and "several new actions" taken by Indonesia to deal with haze pollution, listing legal revisions, enforcement actions or fire-suppression activities.

"We must acknowledge the fact that Indonesia is trying to do something to bring down the fires, but as to whether or not their plan of action is on target," Yaacob said. "This is best left to Indonesia to review."

Indonesia's neighbours would give any assistance needed, but it had to take the lead, said the Singapore minister, who had criticised Jakarta's response to the current haze.

"We stand ready to play our part," he said, "but we have to be guided by Indonesia where to put our resources."

Apart from Yaacob, the eighth MSC meeting was attended by Brunei's Minister of Development Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Abdullah, Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar, Malaysian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas, Thailand's Pollution Control Department Director-General Dr Supat Wangwongwatana and Asean Environment Division Head Dr Raman Letchumanan.

In a separate statement, the MSC said the region has experienced a sharp increase in the number of hotspots up to last Saturday, as compared to the same period in 2006 when the region last experienced severe smoke haze pollution.

The ministers noted that while there had been sporadic incidences of air quality reaching unhealthy levels, the situation was still under control due to mitigation actions taken by MSC countries.

The ministers also urged all MSC countries to put in place enhanced measures to prevent and mitigate fires during this critical period, and agreed to promote public awareness to control fires.

They also agreed to expeditiously provide assistance to joint emergency response to mitigate the fires, should the need arise.

Indonesia told the MSC it had taken several new and stricter actions in dealing with the haze pollution which included empowering its authorities to prosecute offenders, issuing warning letters to local governments and companies in fire-prone provinces, carrying cloud-seeding operations and banning open burning in Central Kalimantan since early this month.Replying to questions by the media, Rachmat said, with a vast territory and millions of farmers - many of whom still practise the slash-and-burn method of farming - Indonesia would need longer time to reduce the hotspots and curb the haze pollution.

However, he said since the MSC was established (in 2006) and Indonesia became a member, there has been a lot of improvement in the haze situation in the region.

Yaacob said what mattered most is that there is a strong will among members of the MSC to seriously tackle the haze problem which has long been affecting the region.

He said Singapore will host the MSC forum in October, back-to-back with the 11th Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment, involving local authorities of MSC countries and international organisations to share experiences and best practices in addressing land and forest fires and transboundary haze pollution.

Indonesian environmental groups said the government of President-elect Yudhoyono should put forest protection at the top of its agenda, ahead of a international meeting in Copenhagen in December to agree action against climate change.

"Every day more precious forest and peatland are being destroyed, burnt and cleared by climate and forest criminals ... leading to an exponential increase in greenhouse gas emissions that is causing climate change," Greenpeace said in a statement.