Expect drier, hazier season in Singapore this year

my paper AsiaOne 18 Feb 11;

Singapore - Get your masks out – the traditional dry season between June and September is likely to be drier this year than that of last year.

This is because the La Nina effect, which has brought wetter weather to South-east Asia, will weaken over the second half of the year, with a return to neutral conditions.

Heavy rain helped keep the haze at bay last year.

But this year, the five countries under the Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution will have to be extra vigilant in managing haze from fires during the dry period, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said yesterday.

Singapore, for instance, is looking to replicate in other fire-prone areas, such as South Sumatra, a haze-action programme that proved successful in the central Sumatran province of Jambi.

The number of hotspots in Jambi has been cut to 617 last year from 2,150 in 2006, said a National Environment Agency spokesman.

This can be attributed to the wetter conditions and measures taken by the Jambi provincial government to prevent forest fires, he added.

In April 2007, Singapore, Indonesia and the provincial government of Jambi jointly developed a master plan to deal with land and forest fires in Jambi. Under the plan, Singapore offered technical assistance to implement specific
programmes, such as training in fire prevention and suppression.

South Sumatra is a potential province for collaboration because of its similarity and proximity to Jambi, as well as its significant contribution to the haze in the region, said Dr Yaacob.

However, Indonesia will ultimately decide whether South Sumatra would be picked. Dr Yaacob was at the 11th meeting of the Sub-Regional MSC on Transboundary Haze Pollution, attended by representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Asean Secretariat.

Indonesian Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said his government plans toratify the haze agreement this year.

The agreement binds signatory nations to take steps to stop haze pollution from land and forest fires within their territories. Indonesian legislators rejected a ratification draft in 2008. Indonesia originally targeted to reduce the
number of hotspots by 20 per cent annually beginning from last year, but has exceeded targets by reducing the number by 72 per cent, said Prof Gusti.

Dry Spell To Hit Southeast Region In Coming Months
Zakaria Abdul Wahab Bernama 17 Feb 11;

SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Bernama) - The Southeast Asian region may expect drier weather during the coming traditional dry season between June and September this year.

This is due to the possibility of the prevailing La Nina weakening to neutral conditions in the second half of the year, according to the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) in its forecast.

This weather condition was reported by ASMC to the environment ministers from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand who met at the 11th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution, here Thursday.

Malaysia was represented by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas.

According to a statement issued after the meeting, the ministers also noted the ASMC's weather outlook of occasional periods of dry weather over the next two months in the region.

The MSC countries also agreed to continue to be vigilant and prepared for any occurrence of transboundary haze from fires during extended periods of dry weather in the coming months.

The statement said the ministers also expressed their appreciation to Indonesia for their enhanced and new efforts in implementing its Plan of Action (PoA) in Dealing with Transboundary Haze Pollution in the country.

Among the actions taken by Indonesia were strengthening the capacity of Community Fire Brigades on fire warning system and early suppression, enhancing the dissemination of information on hotspots, and campaigns on zero burning technique and socialisation of law and regulation in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Indonesia also has allocated about US$18.2 million for strengthening the Manggala Agni fire brigade in national parks and natural resources conservation units nationwide.

The ministers also noted the successful implementation of the Indonesia-Malaysia collaboration in Riau Province, and Indonesia-Singapore collaboration in Jambi Province, in the haze control management.

-- BERNAMA