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  Yahoo News 10 Nov 06
ASEAN nations to help Indonesia reduce choking haze

Straits Times 6 Nov 06
Asean needs help to tackle haze: PM
International expertise needed to help nip problem in the bud, he says
By Lynn Lee

Business Times 6 Nov 06
S'pore working with Asean on haze: PM
By Uma Shankari

Channel NewsAsia 5 Nov 06
Action plan for ASEAN to work with Indonesian districts to fight haze
By Farah Abdul Rahim

SINGAPORE: Plans to fight the haze are on track with a regional action plan that will allow Southeast Asian countries to work directly with Indonesian districts at the local level to prevent forest fires.

This is expected to be operational by early next year, after it has been tabled at the upcoming ASEAN Environment Ministers' Meeting in Cebu this week (9 Nov), and endorsed at the Regional Leaders' Summit at the end of the year.

This was announced at the launch of the Clean & Green Week on Sunday.

As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the Clean & Green Week here, he also touched on the subject of the haze that has been affecting Singapore and the region over the past two months.

He said he understood why many Singaporeans are upset about this, as the haze has an impact not just on one's health but also on the economy, specifically, tourism.

PM Lee said he received assurance from the Indonesian President that Indonesia will take effective steps to prevent the haze from happening again and positive steps have already been taken. This includes leasing two Russian fire-fighting planes and setting aside funds to fight the haze.

PM Lee said: "These first steps must be followed up to solve the problem. But it is a difficult problem - fires are not just in one isolated area but in various parts of the country due to illegal clearance of forests by burning - there is a need for resources and enforcement to tackle this at its root.

"Singapore will continue to do our part to help Indonesia, work with the Indonesian government and ASEAN on a long-term action plan."

The good news is the Indonesians have agreed on a plan of action, which includes working with small farmers and dealing with plantation owners who may have flouted the law. Indonesia has also called on its ASEAN neighbours to 'adopt' some of its 35 local districts to help tackle the haze problem.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said: "The fact that the plan to work with local districts came from the Indonesians shows resolve, it is better to do it that way than have a blanket programme.

"Singapore is more than happy to do our part--to evaluate and decide which districts we want to work with. Our game plan must be to work with districts where we can solve the problem, where we can demonstrate what can be done."

Singapore will bring in its expertise and international experts. One possibility is to give farmers alternative livelihoods and other ways to clear the land, instead of resorting to slash-and-burn practices.

Dr Yaacob also acknowledged that the haze problem cannot be solved overnight. "I don't think we can solve the problem within a year. It will take some long-term solution that depends on whether farmers are prepared to change tactics, whether authorities are willing to clamp down on errant plantation workers."

"The more important thing is there is a plan of action that will be put in place and we will work together very closely," he said.

The proposed action plan is seen as a step in the right direction, even as the haze is expected to be worse next year due to a stronger El Nino effect. - CNA/so

Business Times 6 Nov 06
S'pore working with Asean on haze: PM
By Uma Shankari

(SINGAPORE) The haze in the region is a serious trans-boundary problem for many countries in South-east Asia, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Singapore, he said, will do its part by working with the Indonesian government and Asean partners on a long-term action plan.

'This is a severe problem, so Asean will need international help and expertise. Therefore, we need to bring in other countries and international organisations to tackle this urgent problem together,' he said.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, who was also at the launch of Clean & Green Week, told reporters that a new regional 'action plan' to fight the haze is expected to be put in place by early next year. The plan, which will involve Indonesia as well as its neighbours, will allow countries such as Singapore to work directly with local authorities within individual Indonesian districts to prevent and suppress forest fires, said Dr Ibrahim.

The plan will target both small farmers as well as large plantation owners contributing to the haze, and is expected to be put into place after it is tabled at the upcoming Asean environment ministers' meeting in Cebu, and endorsed at the Regional Leaders' Summit later this year.

Echoing remarks by Mr Lee, Dr Ibrahim said that Singapore will bring in international expertise when implementing the action plan.

But Singaporeans shouldn't expect the haze problem to be solved quickly, Dr Ibrahim warned. 'I don't think we can solve the problem within a year,' he said.

In his remarks, Mr Lee also said the haze, if recurrent, can hurt Singapore's economy by having a negative effect on tourism. 'I think if we have haze like this every year, our tourism is going to be affected.'

In Mr Lee's view, the haze could get worse next year because of an El Nino climatic effect, which could lead to higher temperatures, drier seasons and more forest fires.

Straits Times 6 Nov 06
Asean needs help to tackle haze: PM
International expertise needed to help nip problem in the bud, he says
By Lynn Lee

WITH the haze problem so severe, affected Asean nations cannot free the region from the shroud of smoke by themselves, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday. They will need the international community to lend their expertise to tackle this urgent problem, he added.

The haze problem is a difficult one, as the fires which cause the blanket of smoke occur all over Indonesia.

'To tackle this at its roots - that means before it starts burning, to prevent the fires from being started - we will need resources and we need enforcement,' he said.

Officials in Indonesia cite farmers, plantation owners and workers for starting fires to clear land during the dry season from June to August.

Noting that many Singaporeans were upset about the haze, Mr Lee said he fully understood why. The smoke took a toll on people's health, and limited their outdoor activities. It degraded their quality of life.

Even the economy was not spared: 'If you have haze like this every year, tourism will be affected. Our integrated resorts won't look as beautiful as they ought to.'

He said that in a phone call three weeks ago, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged to take steps to prevent the haze in future.

Indonesia has made some headway, Mr Lee noted at the launch of this year's Clean and Green Week. It set aside funds for efforts to fight the haze, and leased two Russian firefighting planes.

Dr Yudhoyono was serious about solving the problem and given his personal focus, Mr Lee was sure Indonesia would work towards a long-term haze solution.

The occurrence of the haze, which has affected Singapore seasonally for almost a decade, is unlikely to disappear soon. Since the end of September, the Pollutant Standards Index has hit unhealthy levels - above 100 - three times.

Things might get worse next year if the El Nino weather effect returns, said Mr Lee. This could prolong Indonesia's dry season by some four months.

Singapore would continue to do its bit by working with Indonesia and Asean on a long-term action plan. But as the problem was severe, there was also a need to bring in other countries and organisations to tackle this urgent problem together, he said.

Asean environment ministers have formed a committee to oversee measures to fight the haze. Officials agreed last week on an action plan whereby, among other things, Asean countries can work directly with Indonesian districts in regions such as Kalimantan and Sumatra to tackle forest fires.

'These are positive moves, but they are just first steps. They have to be followed up in order to tackle the problem,' Mr Lee told students, grassroots leaders and residents at Republic Polytechnic.

Speaking to reporters later, Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said details of the action plan, which he described as 'comprehensive', would be confirmed this week when Asean environment ministers meet in Cebu.

The plan would then be put to Asean leaders for endorsement at their December summit and be operational by early next year. Dr Yaacob said Singapore was keen to work with authorities in some of the 35 districts in which hotspots have been identified.

International experts could also help solve 'difficult' problems, such as dealing with peat fires, which are hard to put out. They could also work with the Indonesian authorities on alternative ways to clear land.

Indonesian officials had shown ' a certain resolve' in tackling the problem, he said. 'So we take it at face value. We will work with them.'

But there was no snap solution: 'I don't think we can solve this within a year. It will take a long-term solution. We have to see if farmers are prepared to change habits, whether the Indonesian authorities are prepared to clamp down on errant plantation owners.

'But the more important thing is that there is a plan of action that we'll put in place.'

Yahoo News 10 Nov 06
ASEAN nations to help Indonesia reduce choking haze

CEBU, Philippines (AFP) - Neighboring nations affected by choking smoke haze from Indonesian forest fires have agreed to "adopt a fire-prone district" from the archipelago in a bid to cut the pollution.

A regional ministerial sub-committee of the countries most affected by the fires -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand -- met for the first time Friday in Cebu to formulate a clear policy on how to deal with the blazes.

The five are all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which also groups Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Indonesia has proposed that ASEAN member countries may "wish to adopt one or more fire-prone districts" to help deal with land and forest fires. No other details were given.

Indonesian farmers burn forests annually to clear land for agriculture, causing a haze that spreads across Southeast Asia during the dry season, affecting tourism and increasing health problems.

The ministers agreed that Indonesia will head the committee and the technical working group for the first two years.

Some 26 environment leaders from ASEAN and dialogue partners Japan, China and South Korea began a two-day meeting Friday to discuss a series of environmental issues.

Philippine Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes told the meeting that "environmental problems cannot be confined to political boundaries." He said: "Environmental problems in one country can only be solved by addressing the same problems in other countries."

Earlier ASEAN issued its State of the Environment Report in which it identified seven challenges facing the region.

Some of the key environmental challenges include pollution, land degradation, deforestation, depletion of natural resources and how to protect the regions freshwater resources and marine and coastal ecosystems.
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