Environment Ministry to take action against those responsible for causing haze
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources is going beyond just monitoring the haze, by taking action against those responsible for the fires, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources is going beyond just monitoring the haze, by taking action against those responsible for the fires, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.
His ministry plans to get tough on transboundary haze by taking to task, companies which contribute to the haze. Planned measures include the tabling of an Act to hold directors of such companies accountable for the damage caused and the health impact on millions of people in the region.
“Early next year, I’ll be going to Parliament to introduce a new Act specifically targeting trans-boundary haze,” said Dr Balakrishnan. “We will make it a criminal offence. We will hold the companies as well as directors liable for the damage they cause to us, as well as the deleterious health impact on our population. We’re about to finalise the drafting, I will present it to the public. We will take the views of the public, adjust it if necessary. I hope to pass this bill sometime within the first half of next year.
“Again, the intention is to send a signal to companies. We are going to hold them accountable and we know who is responsible for causing these problems to literally millions of Singaporeans and Indonesians.”
Dr Balakrishnan said his ministry will also collaborate with non-government organisations to highlight the problem within the local and international sphere. He said the key objective is to ultimately create an awareness among consumers of palm oil, to understand which companies are producing palm oil sustainably and responsibly, and which ones are doing so through indiscriminate burning.
Dr Balakrishnan also touched on the topic of the rising number of dengue cases, which has exceeded 22,000 cases by yesterday (Dec 27), with seven reported deaths.
Dr Balakrishnan said the NEA inspects about 100 construction sites a week, and finds breeding occurring in between eight and 10 per cent of them.
He said the NEA has been issuing more stop-work orders to construction companies. The ministry is also considering raising penalties for construction sites found to have recurring breeding of mosquitoes.
“Whilst I would say It’s too early to say that the epidemic is over, I think the worst is over,” said Dr Balakrishnan. “We are now down to about 350 cases ... thereabouts. I think the number will stay around there.”
“We will continue to pour in more resources, continue to do more inspections, continue to mobilise Singaporeans and gradually bring the number down,” he added. “But this remains an ever-present threat to us. Our immunity as a whole is low and this virus has very high epidemic potential.”
The year 2013 has also been significant on the climate change front, with intense rainfall over short periods of time continuing to cause flash floods in many areas, and experts have warned of more such weather patterns in the future.
Dr Balakrishnan said a review of the Sustainable Singapore blueprint will begin in 2014, and will involve public consultation. The blueprint maps out the country’s strategy for economic growth in an environmentally-sustainable way.
The review will also incorporate NEA’s Volunteer Corp Scheme, where members of the public are trained and issued with warrant cards to book and issue littering summonses to offenders on the spot.
Dr Balakrishnan said: “I want this to go through the proper process of public consultation. What type of people should be eligible to have a warrant card, what kind of training is necessary? How should they be deployed, where should they be deployed? Instead of working with individuals, work with NGOs, work with organised groups. The real objective is not enforcement. It’s public ownership and peer pressure.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA