Officials call for a single map, clear laws, carrot and stick approach
Zubaidah Nazeer Indonesian Correspondent In Jakarta Straits Times 17 Jul 13;
AS MINISTERS from five Asean countries prepare to meet today to discuss the haze issue, Indonesian officials and forest campaigners say Jakarta has to get its act together on three fronts.
The Asean meeting in Kuala Lumpur was brought forward to this week after forest fires in Sumatra blanketed Singapore and parts of Malaysia with thick haze last month.
Indonesian authorities are being urged to commit to completion of the One Map initiative.
This aims to mark all forest boundaries and concessions clearly on one official map, which will improve transparency and accountability, and also minimise land disputes.
Second, the authorities should cut through confusing and overlapping regulations by assigning clear responsibilities for law enforcement.
Third, they should adopt a carrot-and-stick approach towards farmers and companies whose slash-and-burn method of clearing land gives rise to the haze.
The suggestions are not exactly new but getting them off the ground has taken on a new urgency since last month's haze.
The One Map initiative, for instance, has been around since late 2010 when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for different maps being used by the National Agency for Land Administration, Forestry Ministry and Agriculture Ministry to be integrated.
The idea is also to allow government officials and non-governmental organisations to synchronise the land data they have and update them on a single map available online for all parties to check against. But it is not an easy task.
"It is a live map being filled in by everyone... and sometimes not updated even if there are changes... so this is not easy," Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan told The Straits Times in May.
Still, backed by satellite images of hot spots and fires, an integrated map can help pinpoint whose land is being torched so that officials can go after the culprits.
As of last year, the Forestry Ministry estimated there were some 2,500 cases in which land- owners breached the terms of their licences, such as clearing land for mining or plantations without proper approval.
Mr Agus Purnomo, the presidential adviser on climate change, is seeking a legal review to put the burden of responsibility on concession holders or district chiefs, regardless of whether the fires were started by them.
"If there is a fire on your concession land and you are unable to put it out within a week, you will lose your licence," he told The Straits Times.
"Similarly, if you are a district head and you have, say, 10 hot spots that continue for a week, we will send you to jail. But if you don't assign responsibility and back it with sanctions, you end up with a blame-game."
Forest campaigner Peter Holmgren calls for "more public investment in fire-monitoring, prevention and firefighting, and more education to make sure there is an understanding of the consequences of burning".
"Some things that need to be in place are beyond just law enforcement," said Dr Holmgren, director-general of the Centre for International Forestry Research.
Mr Riko Kurniawan, chief of the Riau chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, said banks can play a part by demanding proof of zero-fires before granting loans to plantation firms. Incentives, such as rewarding districts that have no fires with a bigger budget, should be also considered.
The time has come to act, says Mr Riko. "This is a man-made disaster... it can be solved. The question is, will it be done, and when?"
Malaysia: Firms may be roped in to help prevent haze
Rozanna Latiff and Nuradilla Noorazam New Straits Times 17 Jul 13;
POOLING RESOURCES: They have equipment, knowledge of fire-prone areas and can educate communities
KUALA LUMPUR: LARGE companies based near fire-prone areas in Indonesia may be called to help local communities prevent haze.
Global Environment Centre director Faizal Parish said while many companies had taken precautions against burning on their own land, smaller incidents of fire in other areas remained unchecked.
"Like it or not, these companies are part of this issue, even when they are not involved in starting fires.
"So, a proposal will be put forward to see if it is possible for them to pool their resources and help local governments act quickly in identifying the source of the fires and putting them out," he said at the 15th Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Transboundary Haze Pollution here.
Faizal, who is a senior technical adviser to the Asean Peatland Forests Project (APFP), said the suggestion had received positive response from companies such as Sime Darby, which is one of five Malaysian companies under probe in connection with the latest haze incident.
Faizal said Indonesia's rural authorities often lacked resources, such as fire-fighting and aerial surveillance equipment, to stop fires before they spread.
"By the time the central government and international authorities step in, it is often too late.
"This is where the companies can help, not only because they have the equipment, but also because they are more familiar with these areas.
"They can also play other roles, like educating the smaller farming communities and local groups on other methods of clearing land, apart from burning."
Some 40 delegates from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand met yesterday to finalise a proposal to strengthen collaboration against haze.
The Indonesian authorities are investigating several firms based in Sumatra and Riau, including eight Malaysian companies, that are suspected of being responsible for the haze which shrouded parts of Malaysia and Singapore last month.
To date, one Malaysian firm, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) Berhad, has been named a possible suspect. KLK has denied the charges.
Meanwhile, Bernama reports that the delegates are expected to lay the groundwork and present the outcome of the discussion to their respective ministers at the 15th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution today.
The meeting will be hosted by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel.
