Channel NewsAsia 26 Sep 12;
SINGAPORE: ASEAN Environment Ministers meeting in Bangkok have urged Indonesia to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution as soon as possible.
A statement from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) said that Indonesia had reported that it was in the final stages of its ratification process.
The meeting also urged ASEAN member states to ensure that companies adopt zero-burning techniques for land clearing.
To follow up on this, the meeting also discussed the identification of errant companies by the sharing of concession maps and cross-referencing of the location of hotspots.
At the meeting, Singapore Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan took the opportunity to highlight that the cumulative total number of hotspots that have been recorded in Sumatra so far this year is at its highest level in many years.
The ASEAN ministers noted that the El Nino conditions currently developing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean may prolong the dry season slightly and extend dry weather conditions. As such, increased hotspot activities in the region can be expected.
The ASEAN member states have pledged to remain vigilant to continuously monitor the situation on the ground and implement haze prevention activities.
- CNA/cc
Sumatra hot spot count highest in years
Ministers at Asean meeting urge Jakarta to ratify haze accord
Straits Times 27 Sep 12;
BANGKOK - The number of hot spots recorded in Sumatra so far this year is at its highest level in many years, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said at a regional meeting.
Dr Balakrishnan's observation was shared by a number of other Asean ministers at the Asean ministerial meeting on the environment and related matters in Bangkok yesterday.
Figures show that the hot spot count for this year has exceeded that for 2006, the last year in which Singapore experienced a prolonged haze.
Delegates attending the meeting urged Indonesia to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution as soon as possible, a statement issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources in Singapore said. In response, Indonesia reported that it was in the final stages of its ratification process.
The discussions took place among environment ministers at the eighth meeting on the Asean haze agreement, one of the related meetings of the 12th Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment.
The meeting also urged Asean member states to ensure that companies adopt zero-burning techniques for land clearing. As a follow-up, those present at the meeting discussed the identification of errant companies and cross-referencing of the location of hot spots, the statement said.
The haze season usually occurs each year from June to September, which is the dry season in Indonesia and also a time when farmers there clear land using the slash-and-burn method.
The worst episode of haze to hit the region occurred in 1997.
Asean's efforts to tackle the annual haze problem saw nine of its members ink the 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Only Indonesia has yet to ratify the accord.
Meanwhile, in Jambi, Sumatra, health officials warned of a sharp spike in the number of people with respiratory problems. According to Mr Andi Pada from the Jambi provincial health office, the number of people suffering from respiratory tract ailments in the Sumatran province has risen to 3,020, with 1,241 of them in the capital, The Jakarta Globe reported.
He added that the standard air pollution index in the city had already reached unhealthy levels of more than 100 particles per million.
Local health officials have distributed some 3,000 masks to the population, especially for motorists, reports said.
Another official said attempts were being made to artificially induce rain in the area.
But this was proving difficult with few clouds and the dry nature of the air, he added.
