Singapore offers haze assistance to Indonesia, Malaysia

Channel NewsAsia 10 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE: In anticipation of the upcoming dry season, Singapore will offer assistance to Indonesia and Malaysia to help its neighbours suppress fires, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) said on Tuesday (June 10).

MEWR stated the assistance package offered to Indonesia is the same as offered in previous years, namely:

=One C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations;
=Up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry fire-fighting assistance teams from Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF);
=A team from SCDF to provide assessment and planning assistance to their Indonesian counterparts in fire-fighting efforts; and
=High-resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates

The ministry said haze from land and forest fires during the traditional dry season from June to October has been a "perennial problem" in the southern Southeast Asia region in the past decade. This is mainly due to illegal land clearing and "slash and burn" agricultural practices in Indonesia, particularly Sumatra and Kalimantan, it said.

Singapore experienced its worst episode of haze last year when the three-hour PSI hit a record high of 401 on June 21, 2013.

"In the run up to the upcoming dry season, the Singapore Government has offered the Indonesian Government assistance to help combat possible land and forest fires. We hope this will help to prevent another episode of severe haze in the region," MEWR said.

It added that Singapore was also affected by transboundary smoke haze from Malaysia earlier in March, when the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) entered the "Moderate" range and reached a high of 75 on March 12. Assistance was offered to the Malaysian Government to help combat land and forest fires should such a need arise, the ministry said.

- CNA/kk

Singapore offers haze assistance packages to Malaysia and Indonesia
New Straits Times 11 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE: Singapore has offered assistance to Indonesia and Malaysia to combat possible land and forest fires in the run-up to the traditional dry season.

In a statement today, the environment and water resources ministry said this was to prevent another episode of severe transboundary haze from affecting the region.

The assistance is in the form of fire-fighting and planning assistance from Singapore Civil Defence Force, and for cloud-seeding operations.

Transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires during the traditional dry season from June to October has been a perennial problem in the southern Asean region in the past decades.

Illegal land clearing and ‘slash and burn’ agricultural practices in Indonesia, particularly Sumatra and Kalimantan, have been identified as the main cause of the fire that results in transboundary haze pollution in the region.

Singapore saw its worst haze episode in 2013 when the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit an unprecedented high of 246 on June 20, far exceeding the levels in 1997 (138) and 2006 (128).

Given that there is a possibility of the El Nino weather phenomenon affecting our region this year, the ministry said smoke haze pollution in the region could reach worse levels this year if fires were not promptly stemmed at source.

In past years, Singapore has consistently offered assistance packages to Indonesia to help suppress fires.

Early this year, Singapore was also affected by haze from Peninsular Malaysia.

In March, this year, the 24-hour PSI entered the moderate range and reached a high of 75 on March 12.

The Singapore Government has also offered assistance to the Malaysian Government to help combat land and forest fires, should such a need arise.

– BERNAMA

Singapore offers to help Indonesia fight forest fires
The Star 12 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE has offered to help Indonesia fight its land and forest fires to prevent severe haze in the upcoming dry season.

It is willing to provide, among other things, high-resolution satellite images and hot spot co-ordinates, Singapore Civil Defence Force teams, and even an aircraft for cloud-seeding, the Environment and Water Resources Ministry said in a statement.

Willem Rampangilei, Indonesia’s deputy for the environment at the coordinating ministry for people’s welfare, said the country appreciated the offer, but would deploy its national capabilities first. “We do not reject the offer,” he said.

Singapore has also offered Malaysia help to combat such fires, though no details were given.

The Republic has offered haze assistance to Indonesia before. Since 1997, Jakarta has been using Singapore satellite pictures and hot spot co-ordinates and in 2005 it borrowed an aircraft and firefighters.

The annual regional haze is caused mainly by Indonesian farmers who take advantage of the dry season from June to October to burn land, clearing it illegally for agriculture.

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index in Singapore hit a record, “very unhealthy” 246 last June 20, far above the previous record of 138 in 1997. The Environment Ministry has said this year’s haze could be worse due to the possible El Nino, which is linked to drier-than-usual weather in the region.

In April, Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya reportedly said the country would never again borrow equipment from Singapore and Malaysia, but he did not preclude future environmental collaborations.

He also said the two countries had previously lent Indonesia substandard equipment, which they had passed off as “considerable assistance”, thus making his country look bad.

Singapore’s Environment Ministry said it was “puzzled” by the comments about the equipment quality. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network