S’pore haze mission over, but fight to go on

SINGAPORE — Even though Singapore’s fire-fighting mission in Indonesia has ended, the work to tackle the root causes of the haze-causing fires is not over, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said yesterday.

The Ministry said the Government intends to enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation to tackle the fires, and will continue to take legal action against errant companies responsible for the haze through the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. To this end, Singapore looks forward to Indonesia’s response to “repeated requests” to share information on the errant companies following its agreement to do so on Sept 27, the MFA said.

“This information will be critical in helping Singapore to take the fullest course of legal action against these companies under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act,” it said. A team comprising 40 Singapore Armed Forces’ and Singapore Civil Defence Force officers returned home on Saturday after more than 10 days battling forest fires in Palembang, Indonesia.

Singapore’s deployment was a demonstration of its commitment to work closely with Indonesia and other affected countries to address the haze problem, the MFA said.

“Over the last two weeks, the Singapore Armed Forces and the Singapore Civil Defence Force have worked tirelessly in very difficult conditions to assist Indonesia in its fire-fighting efforts. The Singapore Government has offered haze assistance packages to Indonesia since 2005, and our assistance this year is in line with what the Indonesian Government had requested,” it said.

Despite the protracted haze situation this year, Singapore remains committed to cooperating with Indonesia, the MFA said. “We look forward to resuming our bilateral environmental cooperation with Jambi Province which has been beneficial to the peoples of Jambi. Singapore hopes to expand such cooperation to other regions and provinces in Indonesia,” it said.

The ministry also called for “firm and decisive action” from ASEAN to prevent the recurrence of the haze. It said Singapore will work closely with other ASEAN countries to fully operationalise the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System and other cooperative initiatives. The fires and haze have global implications, the MFA said, adding that this year’s fires have resulted in a “significant increase” of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Singapore will continue to work with like-minded countries, at the international level, on a lasting solution, including in the global effort to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

The hazy conditions and reduced visibility yesterday in Singapore are expected to persist today, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA). In its advisory, it said there is a possibility of some deterioration if denser haze is blown in from Kalimantan.

As of 6pm last night, the 3-hour PSI was 153. Air quality is expected to be in the mid to high sections of the unhealthy range. CHANNEL NEWSASIA