FIRES AND HAZE FROM INDONESIA

Mr Simon S. C. Tay asked the Minister for the Environment why the fires and haze from Indonesia persist to affect Singapore and what improvements can be expected from recent discussions within ASEAN.

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, the short spells of hazy conditions we experienced over the last two months were the result of logging and plantation fires in central Sumatra. The fact that the fires persist indicates that ground fire fighting measures and enforcement in Indonesia are not effective enough even though we had alerted the Indonesian authorities about these fires.

The recent fires in Sumatra were not extensive, nonetheless, we were still affected by smoke haze because of winds blowing in our direction. The weather forecast for the rest of the year shows that the normal dry season would set in but we do not expect a El Nino drought situation like that of 1997. Unless fire fighting and enforcement measures are effective in Indonesia, we would have to expect some hazy days with air quality in the moderate zone.

At last month's Sixth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Haze in Brunei, Indonesia acknowledged that enforcement against illegal burning activities is lacking and would be difficult under the current political and economic climate. Their efforts were also hampered by lack of a clear organisational structure to tackle forest fire issues and lack of funding. The Indonesian Minister for the Environment has assured us of his ministry's commitment to control such fires and has agreed to use the fires in Sumatra as a test case to show their resolve in addressing the fires and haze problem.

At the Brunei meeting, Indonesia agreed to adopt a zero burning policy and initiate dialogue with plantation owners to promote zero burning practices, starting with a seminar in Jakarta in June. Indonesia also agreed to make use of the presumption clause in their law to deal with landowners for illegal burning found on their land. This "presumption of guilt" policy, successfully practised in Malaysia and Brunei, will compel a plantation owner to prove that any fire on his land was not his doing and that he had taken all necessary actions to prevent or stop it. We hope that Indonesia will succeed in these efforts and mobilise the necessary resources to put out fires and take firm enforcement actions against any culprit.

The Ministers are meeting again in July to take stock of the progress made on the part of Indonesia. We will continue to work closely with our ASEAN neighbours, international agencies and donor countries on programmes that would help strengthen Indonesia's ability to deal with this problem.

Mr Simon S C Tay (Nominated Member): Sir, Indonesia has made a request for assistance and Malaysia has made a commitment. May I ask the Minister what assistance Singapore has given to-date and what further assistance Singapore might extend in response to this request?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, when the fires first broke out in 1997, we responded immediately. We had discussions with our Indonesian counterparts and offered assistance. Let me list some of the assistance we had given. Our assistance so far included the following: Firstly, provision of communication equipment and computers with Internet facilities to help them improve communications. Secondly, we have helped the Indonesians to set up air quality monitoring stations in Jambi, Pontianak and Bali. Thirdly, we have helped with the training of Indonesian officials on forest fires and haze monitoring using satellite imagery. And fourthly, we are providing ready access to the forest fires and haze monitoring system on the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre which is located in Singapore in order to monitor and retrieve up-to-date forest fires and weather information.

Sir, so far, in terms of the equipment donation, our contributions have amounted to over $600,000. Over the last few months, we have also continued to provide the Indonesian enforcement agency, which is called BAPEDAL, with satellite pictures to alert them on the locations of the hot spots whenever they are detected. These pictures are delivered by e-mail and courier in order to allow BAPEDAL to take prompt enforcement and fast suppression action on the ground. As mentioned by Mr Tay, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Alleviation, Prof Haryono Suyono, had indicated his interest to visit Singapore to discuss areas of further assistance with us. We definitely welcome his suggestion and Singapore will be happy to continue to provide assistance in areas where we have the capacity and the technical expertise to do so.

Mr Simon Tay: May I ask the Minister how can Singapore be assured that, in giving our assistance and contributions, this assistance will be well spent and spent on the fires and haze for which they are intended, that is to say, has his Indonesian counterpart given his assurance that no corruption, cronyism or nepotism will hinder our help?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, so far, we have provided equipment and training. Our experience has been that the equipment has actually been put to very good use. We are in constant contact with them through our computers, Internet and faxes. They are receiving them and they are passing on the information down to the ground. So on the part of our immediate counterparts in the Ministry of Environment, I can assure the Member that the assistance we have provided them so far has been put to good use.