MACTAN ISLAND,Philippines• South-east Asian nations pledged yesterday to contribute to a regional fund to help fight forest fires in Indonesia that have spread smoke across the region, environment officials said.

The 10 ministers from Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), meeting on a resort island in the central Philippines, ended two days of talks on environment issues, focusing on how to prevent land and forest fires in the region.

“We were committed to continue assisting member countries affected by the recurring smoke problem,” said Angelo Reyes, Manila's environment secretary, after Singapore and Indonesia committed an initial $50,000 each to jumpstart the fund.

Reyes said further discussions on the mechanism and modalities of the haze fund would be taken up by Asean leaders due to meet next month on Mactan island.

Indonesia's neighbours have grown increasingly frustrated by the fires, most of which are deliberately lit by farmers or by timber and palm oil plantation companies—some owned by Singaporeans and Malaysians—to clear land for cultivation.

The smoke from the fires, known in the region as haze, affected much of South-east Asia for months until rains a few weeks ago, triggering fears of a repeat of the choking smog that hit the region in 1997-98.