Haze back with sudden change in winds

Amresh Gunasingham & Maria Almenoar, Straits Times 16 Sep 09;

HAZE shrouded Singapore yesterday evening, as a sudden shift in wind direction blew smoke from blazing fires set in Indonesia directly to the island.

The number of hot spots in Kalimantan and South Sumatra has doubled over the last week. Satellite images detected 53 hot spots - large-scale fires set to clear land - in Sumatra and another 117 in Borneo. The flames are fuelled by drier than normal conditions, said the weatherman.

In Indonesia, Jambi's Sultan Thaha Saifudin Airport was shut for four hours because of the haze. Visibility was down to under 800m, far below the normal 1,800m, an airport official told The Jakarta Post.

Riau, which has not had any rain for almost a week, has seen a jump in the number of hot spots from 18 on Monday to 28 yesterday, Mr Ardhitama, an official with the meteorology office in Pekanbaru, Riau, told The Straits Times.

He added that the dry spell in Riau is expected to last for at least another three days.

At 4pm in Singapore yesterday, the Pollution Standards Index (PSI) stood at a moderate 55. But the 24-hour index did not capture fully the worsening conditions as night fell and the winds shifted.

By then, many people were reporting that they could smell the acrid smoke and see it in the air.

Mr Chia Aik Song, associate scientist with the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing at the National University of Singapore, said that satellite images showed huge smoke plumes stretching 40km over many parts of Banjarmasin, the 70 sq km capital of South Kalimantan, and Palangkaraya, the provincial capital of Central Kalimantan.

Such thick plumes indicate more severe and larger fires.

The number of fires mirrors that of three years ago, when hazy days last hit Singapore and PSI levels reached an unhealthy 150.

'The fires are not as intense, but if it gets worse, more haze can be expected,' warned Mr Chia.

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the hazy conditions may persist for the next few days because of the prevailing southerly wind conditions.

However the situation could be alleviated by showers, NEA added.

Visibility in Singapore was noticeably worse yesterday.

From the 24th floor of the Clifford Centre in Shenton Way, Mr Johan Wong usually has a clear view of Marina Bay.

'But today I looked out my window and I couldn't see past the Benjamin Sheares Bridge,' said the 35-year-old lawyer.

Teacher Joan Lim, 28, could smell the haze the moment she stepped outside her workplace in Serangoon Gardens.

'I couldn't see most of the building tops in the area,' she said.

No pact to stop issue being discussed at global forums: Yaacob
Straits Times 16 Sep 09;

ASEAN member states do not have an agreement that prevents countries from discussing the haze issue at international forums, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.

He was responding to Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) who asked whether Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia - members of the Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze - had agreed not to take the issue beyond the regional setting.

In comments in The Jakarta Post last month, Indonesia's Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar claimed the five members agreed at an earlier meeting in Singapore not to discuss the haze issue at international forums, such as the United Nations General Assembly.

He alluded, in the same article, that Singapore's raising of the issue at the UN General Assembly in 2006 had resulted in several countries cancelling their financial aid meant for protection of Indonesian forests.

Responding yesterday when Ms Lee raised the issue, Dr Yaacob denied that any agreement was in place:

'The simple answer is no.'

Instead, he noted that regional countries had, in fact, benefited from international support to tackle the haze.

Ms Lee asked if he thought Indonesia was too slow in combating the haze and added: 'Do you think we have to protest before they start taking any action?'

There were no such plans, he said. 'I don't think we have to protest because we have already protested.'

He added: 'But despite the best efforts of Asean, haze continues to plague our region, and this is especially due to the limited resources available in the region to prevent and mitigate the fires.'

Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim asked whether illegal logging in Indonesia would also be addressed.

Recent Indonesian media reports suggested the issue was a potential stumbling block to Jakarta ratifying the Asean haze agreement later this month.

To this, Dr Yaacob said Singapore's position was that anyone guilty of illegal logging should be prosecuted based on Indonesia's laws: 'There is nothing preventing Indonesia from taking necessary action to deal with whoever is responsible for the illegal logging.'

AMRESH GUNASINGHAM

Joint efforts with fire-prone provinces help to ease haze
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 16 Sep 09;

ALTHOUGH Indonesia has yet to ratify a 2002 agreement between Asean members to tackle the haze problem, joint efforts with individual provinces are showing results.

Two collaborations with fire-prone regions in Indonesia - one involving Singapore and another Malaysia - have managed to reduce the number of hot spots.

Singapore has committed $1 million to help the Jambi provincial government implement programmes to prevent or mitigate the outbreak of fires. And according to National Environment Agency data, the number of hot spots in Jambi went down 23 per cent in the past two years - from a peak of 2,150 hot spots in 2006 when the haze last hit hard here.

Malaysia has similarly been collaborating with Riau's provincial authorities.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim, who made these points yesterday during a debate on the hot button issue of the haze, indicated that such cooperation could be replicated if the authorities in other provinces found it useful. Which is why next month's meeting here of the Sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze will include officials from other fire-prone provinces. While here, they will hear about the experiences of Jambi and Riau, and best practices can be shared.

'I think one of the better ways to achieve the desired outcome is to get local regional heads to decide (that) if Jambi can do it with Singapore... perhaps they can also do it,' he said.

Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) had asked him about what was being done regionally to address the worsening haze situation. She also wanted to know if Indonesia had been 'too slow in taking action to combat the haze issue'.

Dr Yaacob said his Indonesian counterpart Rachmat Witoelar assured fellow Asean members at last month's meeting of the Steering Committee that Jakarta was doing its best to tackle the fires. 'We are playing our part. They (Indonesia) have promised they will meet their targets. Whether they are slow or not is something we have to continue to monitor,' Dr Yaacob added.

Under a national action plan enacted two years ago, Indonesia committed itself to reducing hot spots by 50 per cent by this year.

The acrid pall arising from fires set to clear fields and forests have blown this way for much of the past decade, bringing economic, health and tourism costs.

Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim asked if it was necessary for Indonesia to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution before the haze problem could be tackled effectively. She also asked why slash and burn farming continued to be practised despite the environmental hazard it posed.

Dr Yaacob said the challenge lay in providing farmers with alternative methods for clearing land.

But with predictions of a stronger El Nino pattern this year - bringing hotter and drier weather - the haze took on added significance, he said.

The region should be open to international assistance where it lacks expertise and resources, he said.

'It will take strong political resolve by Indonesia to enforce their laws to prevent forest fires, and support from Asean as well as resources from the international community to successfully battle the haze problem.'

Regional ministers to meet in Singapore next month to discuss haze problem
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia 15 Sep 09;

SINGAPORE : Regional environment ministers will meet in Singapore next month to discuss the haze problem.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim on Tuesday said international media scrutiny of the haze situation in Singapore would be inevitable during this month's F1 race and the November Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meetings.

He said Singapore has offered to help Indonesia combat its forest fires if the country needs assistance.

Southeast Asia is bracing itself for stronger El Nino conditions in the next few months. Dr Yaacob said this could worsen the dry conditions in the region and result in increased hotspots. That is why the regional ministerial meeting on transboundary haze has been brought forward to October 28.

One issue that remains unresolved is that both Indonesia and Philippines have yet to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution which was signed in 2002.

Dr Yaacob said: "Even though Indonesia has not ratified, we have moved forward because we realise that we have other challenges which cannot wait. When the haze outbreak in 2006 came about, we felt it was important for the five ASEAN countries to come together and deal with it collectively.

"Thus far, Singapore and Malaysia have made progress by collaborating with some of the local provinces. We acknowledge that Indonesia has been trying to implement measures to bring down the hotspots.

"As to whether or not their plan of action is on target will be up to Indonesia to review, but we believe that the Indonesian government remains sincere in combating haze, as it affects the health and quality of living of their citizens as well.

"Where the region lacks the expertise and resources, we should invite international participation to enhance our efforts. It will take strong political resolve by Indonesia to enforce their laws to prevent forest fires, support and cooperation within ASEAN, as well as resources from the international community, to successfully battle the transboundary haze problem."

Dr Yaacob stressed that Singapore is prepared to help Indonesia combat the haze problem by sharing best practices.

The 24-hour reading of the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), taken at 4pm on Tuesday, was at 55 - the highest so far this month and puts Singapore's air quality in the moderate range.

- CNA/ms/sc

Respiratory complaints on the rise in Palembang
Khairul Saleh, The Jakarta Post 14 Sep 09;

There has been an increase in the number of complaints from residents of Palembang, South Sumatra, over acute respiratory infection problems, following recent haze from forest fires that blanketed the city, say local health officials.

The Palembang Health Office says the number of sufferers has increased significantly between July and August.

During the first week of August, the number of sufferers rose by 1.7 percent from the previous month, to 7,831 people.

To prevent from more cases of respiratory problems, the local health office has been distributing face masks to motorists on the city’s main streets.

Health office head Gema Asiani said besides cases of respiratory ailments, residents had also complained about eye and skin irritations, as well as diarrhea caused by the dangerously high levels of particulates within the haze affecting their digestive systems.

Among the districts seeing a sharp increase in respiratory complaints were Bukit Kecil and West Ilir I and II, she said.

“Based on our studies with the local environment office, we believe the haze has affected [the city] beyond its limit,” Gema said.

“Therefore, there should be anticipatory measures to prevent more cases of respiratory problems.
“Residents suffering from these problems should visit community health centers for treatment.”

Gema said the haze likely came from forest fires in Palembang and neighboring areas, including Ogan Ilir and Banyuasin regencies, where hot spots have been detected.

The haze had also disrupted flights at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang.
The South Sumatra Environment Office says 617 hot spots were detected from Sept. 5-8, mostly
in peatland areas across the province.