Pre-emptive Steps to Tackle Haze

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in addition to a letter written by the CEO of NEA to his counterpart in Indonesia, what other steps will the Ministry take to address the haze issue in anticipation of worsening haze conditions.

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Mdm Speaker, on 26 August 2016, the CEO of the National Environment Agency, NEA, registered Singapore's concerns with his Indonesian counterpart over the deteriorating air quality and urged Indonesia to take necessary actions to prevent and mitigate the fires during the dry season. The NEA also asked for an update on the situation in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The NEA has been issuing daily haze advisories to the public. The advisories contain useful information, such as the air quality forecast for the following day with a corresponding health advisory and information pertaining to the hotspots situation. This will allow the public to plan ahead for their activities. The NEA, together with other agencies under the Haze Task Force, will closely monitor the situation and roll out further measures as necessary.

Singapore is committed to assisting Indonesia in its efforts to deal with land and forest fires. In June this year, we offered our haze assistance package to Indonesia to support its fire mitigation efforts. We have also been working with the Indonesian Government at regional fora, such as ASEAN, to explore initiatives that can help address the haze issue.

Over the past year, Singapore has been active in facilitating the exchange of best practices on peat land fire management as well as the development of the Roadmap to a Haze-free ASEAN 2020 which was just adopted last month. We were also active in ensuring the full and effective implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, as well as pushing for the expeditious operationalisation of the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System.

Ultimately, we recognise that transboundary haze is a man-made and commercially-driven issue. The Singapore Government has announced that it will only procure printing paper products that carry the Singapore Green Label, which indicates that the supplier practises sustainable forestry management and does not clear land using fire. Consumers in Singapore should send similar signals to influence companies to adopt environmentally sustainable practices that do not contribute to smoke haze.

I am heartened that some NGOs have stepped up their support in this regard. For example, the World Wildlife Fund Singapore (WWF-SG) has recently established the Singapore Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil to encourage businesses here to use certified palm oil which does not contribute to the haze in its production. I encourage all stakeholders to persevere in our efforts to combat the haze.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Thank you, Mdm Speaker. While the Government is leading by example in the procurement of paper that the Minister has just mentioned, will the Ministry also consider the green procurement of palm oil products as well? Secondly, when we talk about the procurement of paper, are the papers certified under the Singapore Green Label Scheme? Will the Ministry also consider using other internationally recognised standards such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)'s certification?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Indeed, we are concerned that standards should exist so that companies, big or small, have guidance what to buy, where to buy from and therefore, the World Wildlife Fund Singapore's Singapore Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil standard is one of the standards that we are hoping will be one that will resonate with the industry. There are others, like RSPO, and they have different standards, different means of implementation but we welcome them all.

The Singapore Green Label for paper is only one of the product categories that the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) is producing. It is a primary means to ensure that it is more comprehensive and will bring back those egregious companies, a chance for them to make good to practise sustainable production.

FSC is also a label that SEC recognises but it is not as comprehensive as the Singapore Green Label. And while the Singapore Green Label will take some time to mature, FSC is a good enough standard for us to rely on.

Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): I have a supplementary question. Could the Minister update what is the latest assistance that Singapore has offered to fight fires in the forests of Indonesia and whether our offers are taken up by Indonesia? Thank you.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: If activated, Singapore will offer up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry fire-fighting assistance team from the SCDF, a team from SCDF to provide fire-fighting assessment and planning assistance with Indonesian counterparts, one C-130 aircraft to help cloud seeding and higher resolution satellite pictures of fires and the coordinates of the fire sites.