Reluctance to share land use and concession maps a sticking point
By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 3 Apr 2014
By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 3 Apr 2014
A MINISTERIAL meeting of five ASEAN nations to tackle the regional haze problem ended with little progress yesterday, prompting Singapore to express frustration.
After the one-day session with Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia held in Brunei, Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters he was "frustrated at the very slow pace of progress" and "disappointed at the lack of transparency".
A key sticking point was the reluctance of some governments to share relevant land use and concession maps, he said without naming any country.
As a result, the haze monitoring computer system developed by Singapore cannot be put to full use to pinpoint haze-causing fires and identify culprits, he added.
When asked whether Indonesia would share the maps Singapore seeks, the country's deputy minister of degradation control and climate change Arief Yuwono told reporters his government is consolidating various maps to produce a standardised "One Map".
"As long as this process is not finished yet, we cannot give the information," he said.
Dr Balakrishnan said he was told the "One Map" would not be completed for about another two years.
Much of the haze in Singapore is caused by farmers starting fires to clear land in Indonesia.
This year, Singapore faces the threat of even worse haze than last year because of two potential weather forces, according to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre. These are: lower than usual rainfall expected from now to October in parts of the region, and the El Nino weather phenomenon, which is linked to drought.
Last year, the record-breaking haze caused an islandwide scramble for masks, with the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), which measures air quality, peaking at a hazardous 401 on June 21.
Said Dr Balakrishnan: "We have to find a way forward so that errant companies know that governments will exchange information and collaborate to take enforcement action."
For instance, he has asked Indonesia and Malaysia to share the names of suspected culprits they are investigating for the fires.
Mr Arief said 202 individuals and 45 companies are being investigated so far this year.
Dr Balakrishnan pointed out some optimistic moves, including the progress Indonesia has made towards ratifying the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. It would, among others, let firefighters from ASEAN countries put out fires in Indonesia.
Singapore and Indonesia also plan to sign a memorandum of understanding to resume collaboration on anti-fire efforts in Indonesia.
The five ASEAN countries yesterday issued a statement pledging to "continue to be vigilant and take additional preventive measures and immediate fire suppression in the event of any... transboundary haze in the coming months".
They, however, did not specify the measures.
Indonesia unlikely to share maps for haze monitoring soon
By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 2 Apr 2014
By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 2 Apr 2014
INDONESIA is unlikely to share in the near future maps which are necessary for a regional haze monitoring system.
The computer system developed by Singapore uses satellite images and hot-spot data to pinpoint fires that lead to haze. But it needs the concession maps to identify which firms are responsible for the land plots where the fires occur.
The Straits Times understands that Indonesia is not able to provide these maps as it is still putting together a larger-scale reference map which can be used to produce accurate concession maps or to verify existing ones.
The reference map is expected to be completed by the end of the year, an Indonesian official told reporters yesterday in Brunei, where delegates from five ASEAN countries have been meeting to discuss the haze issue.
Another Indonesian official said that the country is prohibited by law from sharing such concession maps in the first place.
Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan is expected to discuss the concession maps with fellow ASEAN ministers today.
That is when he and ministers from Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand and Malaysia will attend the 16th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The committee oversees moves to prevent haze from forest and other land fires in the five countries.
Yesterday's meeting, also in Brunei, was the 16th Meeting of the Technical Working Group, which National Environment Agency chief executive Ronnie Tay attended.
Last month, the Singapore Government said this year's haze could be worse than last year's record pollution, which saw the three-hour PSI in Singapore hit a hazardous 401 on June 21.
This is partly due to a weather phenomenon known as El Nino - linked to droughts in South-east Asia - that is expected to develop in the second half of the year.
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