ASEAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS' MEETING (Progress towards addressing problems of fires and haze pollution)

Mr Simon S C Tay asked the Minister for the Environment whether the recent ASEAN Environment Ministers' meeting has made significant progress towards addressing the problems of the South East Asian fires and haze pollution.

The Minister for the Environment (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Sir, the ASEAN Environment Ministers were able to make further progress in their recent meeting in Brunei in their efforts to address the problem of forest fires and haze.

The Ministers agreed to form two sub-Regional Fire-fighting Arrangements (RFA) under the Regional Haze Action Plan: one to tackle fires in Kalimantan and the other to prevent fires from developing in Sumatra and the Riau Islands. Under the RFAs, the affected countries in the sub-regions will share fire-fighting resources and deploy international assistance when available. The ASEAN Ministers agreed that top priority must now be given to efforts to prevent fires from developing in Sumatra and the Riau Islands. The fires in East Kalimantan are now so massive and widespread that efforts are best directed at containing these fires and preventing them from spreading to Central and West Kalimantan.

The ASEAN Environment Ministers also affirmed the UN Environment Programme or UNEP's role in helping to mobilise international assistance to deal with the forest fires. Indonesia, in particular, had welcomed UNEP's initiative at the highest political level. This is an encouraging development as we believe that UNEP is in a position to reach out to more countries for assistance. Already, UNEP has sent a UN experts mission to assess the situation in Kalimantan, and there will be a UN level meeting in Geneva on 21st April among potential donor countries to assess the types of assistance needed by Indonesia.

While in Brunei, I had conveyed to Prof Juwono, the new Indonesian Environment Minister, Singapore's concern over the threat of smoke haze this year. He had assured me that he was fully aware of the magnitude and seriousness of the Indonesian forest fires and their impact on the region last year. He also stated that he would do his utmost to get his government, his people and those in the private sector to understand the economic costs and the health impact of forest fires and haze, and seek their cooperation in stopping illegal burning activities.

The ASEAN Environment Ministers also discussed the forest fires raging in the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, and were briefed by the Malaysian Environment Minister on their efforts to bring these fires under control. The Malaysian Minister informed us that many of these are peat fires, against which conventional methods of fire fighting are not effective.

The drought in Kalimantan, Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei has been particularly severe and prolonged, and rain is not expected till the later half of this year. The dry season in Sumatra is due to set in around the middle of this year. Whilst efforts are being made amongst the affected ASEAN countries to jointly tackle the forest fires with international aid where available, at home we have been advising Singaporeans to install air cleaners and special filters to mitigate the effects of haze on their homes, schools and offices. We have tested these devices and found them to be effective.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan (Nominated Member): Sir, may I ask the Minister: (1) what measures are being taken to contain the fires in Kalimantan; and (2) is there any evidence of illegal burning in Sumatra?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, at the present moment, a team from UNEP, as well as experts from Germany, are in Kalimantan helping to assess the situation. I believe they will be presenting their report to the Indonesian government and subsequently we will be getting an update from the Indonesian Minister at our next ministerial meeting, which will be in May.

The second question is about whether there is any evidence of illegal burning in Sumatra. Sir, fortunately, Sumatra is presently fairly free of fire, and that is why we have agreed to put the highest priority on maintaining the current situation in Sumatra. We have set up the sub-regional fire-fighting arrangement which will be organised to operationalise what we had agreed upon in terms of cooperation to spot the fires and to deploy the necessary people to prevent those fires from taking hold when they do break out.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, may I ask the Minister whether he does not consider it really a mockery to tell people, those who have not sufficient funds even to meet their daily expenses, that they should install air purifiers and cleaners in their homes to avoid any health impact? May I ask the Minister whether the Government has any plans to use some of the US$5 billion that they have set aside to help Indonesia to help the needy here who may be in need of respiratory equipment and other medical aids to help them get over the haze problem?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, our attempt to advise Singaporeans was in response to the appeals by Singaporeans for information of what action they can take to mitigate the effects of the haze. Even at the worst period last year, the PSI level in Singapore, on a 24-hour basis, was in the region of about 138, which is in the unhealthy region but not in the hazardous region, most Singaporeans really would be able to cope with the haze without any equipment, such as purifiers and filters. However, for those Singaporeans who suffer from health problems - the asthmatics, the elderly who are sick and who require medical treatment - they can easily go to the polyclinics. First, the fees in the polyclinics are already very heavily subsidised, but for those people who require additional financial assistance, we have the Medifund which can then help to pay for their polyclinic fees in full. So there is no reason for any Singaporeans at all to feel that they are being deprived of assistance from the Government.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Sir, may I ask the Minister, regarding the fires in Kalimantan last year and the haze which it caused, was it not known that a large percentage of it was actually caused by illegal burning on large plantations?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, in fact, the Indonesian Minister at our last ministerial meeting in Brunei had stated that he believed that the present fires in Kalimantan were largely caused, in the initial stages, by illegal burning. But because of the extreme dryness of the island due to the prolonged drought, those fires have spread very rapidly into the nature reserves and other areas which are by and large uninhabited. So in terms of the genesis, yes, the fire originally was started largely by illegal burning but, however, the present scale of the fires is caused largely by the prolonged drought.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Sir, could nothing be done then about illegal burning which is really the genesis of the fires? When you talk about the fires in Sumatra and about the highest priority being taken, could not also measures be taken against illegal burning, which probably would be the genesis of these fires again?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, indeed that is true and which is why all the Ministers have been urging our Indonesian colleagues to impress upon its government the need to enforce the existing laws in Indonesia against illegal burning activities.

Mr Simon Tay: Regarding the preventive actions in Sumatra and the Riau Islands, given that Singapore companies have substantial investments and timber companies are often based in Singapore, will the Minister consider sending a directive to Singapore-based companies to observe Indonesian laws?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, indeed that is what we have been saying publicly. We do not really have information on which companies in Singapore are involved in plantation investments. I think the point is that it has already been very well publicised time and again on the need for the companies to comply with the laws in the host country. In the case of Indonesia, it means they should not engage in illegal burning.

Mr Simon Tay: The Minister is right that people know it in the Straits Times or the media. But there is another thing, would the Minister not agree, to receive a letter from the Ministry pointing out the directive? And surely on the question of which companies are doing it, is the Minister saying it is beyond the powers of the Government to find out which ones are doing it?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, we will look into that, as to whether we will be able to get the full information from the various sources.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Sir, if the Indonesian government is not sufficiently encouraged by the pressures from external sources to take action against illegal burning, does that mean that we, in Singapore, would have to suffer the haze again this year and next year and subsequent years then?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, we have been engaged in very extensive discussions with the Indonesian government as well as with our other ASEAN colleagues and we hope that all these extensive discussions and the message which I believe is being put across very strongly through the mass media as well as through our direct discussions will cause the Indonesian government to be more vigilant in the future.