Indonesia Ratifies Haze Treaty After 12 Years of Stalling

Singapore and Malaysia can now get involved in monitoring, preventing and combating fires
Adelia Anjani Putri Jakarta Globe 17 Sep 14;

Jakarta. Indonesian legislators finally ratified on Tuesday a regional treaty on combating haze from forest fires, 12 years after the government first signed the agreement and a day after choking smoke from Sumatra sent the air pollution index in Singapore shooting to unhealthy levels.

Indonesia becomes the last member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which now means that Singapore and Malaysia, the two countries worst affected by the smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, can now get involved in monitoring, preventing and combating fires deemed to pose a haze threat to their populations.

For Indonesia, ratification allows access to Asean’s pool of special funds to fight the problem, technical assistance from other member countries, and manpower and equipment to monitor and put out forest fires.

“This is a historic and huge moment for fighting haze in the region because Indonesia is the only Asean member that has not ratified the agreement,” Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“Indonesia has already carried out operations for the prevention, mitigation of forest fires and haze, and recovery activities, at the national level,” the House of Representatives said in a statement as reported by AFP.

“But, to handle cross-border pollution, Indonesia and other Asean nations recognize that prevention and mitigation need to be done together,” it said.

The agreement was drawn up in the wake of the 1997 haze that was the worst on record, caused by slash-and-burn clearing of forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo Island, to make way for farmland, mostly oil palm plantations.

Nine of 10 Asean countries had ratified the agreement as of June 2013, but Indonesia legislators in Indonesia, the country at the heart of the problem, continued to hold out against ratification for more than a decade, citing a range of excuses.

Legislators branded the problem not that serious, and accused officials in Singapore and Malaysia of trying to interfere in Indonesia’s internal problems. Several House members also claimed that the companies in whose concessions the fires were burning were Singaporean and Malaysian, and insisted, unsuccessfully, that punishment for these companies be included in the treaty if they were to ratify it.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal acknowledged the political quagmire, but hailed the final ratification as a key achievement of the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“We’ve been hoping for the convention to be ratified before Yudhoyono’s term ends, and thank God it’s been ratified today,” he said on Tuesday.

“There were problems before, including within the political parties,” he added.

Dino also said that although Indonesia had not ratified the agreement until Tuesday, its policies and actions with regard to tackling the haze problem had for years been taken in line with the spirit of the agreement.

“So the ratification is only the legal declaration of it,” he said.

He added he hoped the ratification would help strengthen Indonesia’s diplomatic relations with Singapore and Malaysia, which were badly strained after haze from Sumatra’s Riau province sent air pollution indices in both those countries to record levels.

“The relationship has always been good so far, but there’s this haze problem. It’s a transboundary problem which requires a transboundary partnership to solve. I think the ratification will be well accepted” by officials in Singapore and Malaysia, Dino said.

Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of international law at the University of Indonesia, also welcomed the ratification and its attendant promise of outside help for Indonesia in dealing with the haze problem.

“The problem has been ongoing for a long time. Yudhoyono has stepped in to handle the problem, but it’s still there. What we need is a good partnership to deal with the problem,” he said on Tuesday.

Agus Purnomo, Yudhoyono’s adviser for environmental affairs, cautioned that the ratification was not a silver bullet that would solve the haze problem overnight, but that it should spur ongoing efforts to address the situation.

“We’ve always tried to solve and handle the haze, and there are records of it — the actions we took, the planes we sent. These efforts will continue,” he said.

“This agreement will be a legal platform and will open the door for help from other countries. There might have been political reasons behind the delayed ratification, but it’s done now. We hope in the future the partnership will be much stronger and Indonesia will not be blamed.”

Editorial: Ending an Issue That Shouldn’t Have Been
Jakarta Globe 17 Sep 14;

While the nation has recently been engrossed in speculation over the make-up of Presidential-elect Joko Widodo’s cabinet, the low-key ratification on Tuesday of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution by the House of Representatives is a historic moment.

Indonesia can finally get rid of the monkey on its back, a source of humiliation for the past 12 years.

That was how long the House had refused to ratify the agreement, which Indonesia signed in 2002. With the ratification, Indonesia can now access regional funds, expertise and cooperation to fight the forest fires that generate haze and misery not just within our borders, but as far as Singapore, Malaysia and even southern Thailand.

When forest fires in your own back yard cause serious health problems for other countries’ populations, and you consistently fail to do something about it, it’s only natural that others will accuse you of being irresponsible.

And when you refuse to ratify a regionally accepted treaty that allows other countries to help you, then the problem becomes a humiliation.

The ratification thus marks the release of a burden that Indonesia should never have had to bear over the past 12 years — years that were wasted by narrow-minded nationalism that framed the offer of foreign help as outside meddling.

The mentality of Indonesian politicians has always been that if there’s no personal benefit, why bother? It’s always: Where is the money?

But the ratification shows that common sense has ultimately prevailed.

Forest preservation and biodiversity conservation will benefit, and efforts to hold to account the companies that set forest fires will be strengthened with outside involvement and transparency.

Singapore welcomes Indonesia's ratification of ASEAN haze pact
Channel NewsAsia 16 Sep 14;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Government has welcomed the Indonesian parliament's decision to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The decision to ratify the pact comes 12 years after it was first signed. It obliges Indonesia to strengthen its policies and enforcement against forest fires and causes of transboundary haze, as well as participate in regional decision-making on the issue.

A statement from Singapore's Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) on Tuesday (Sep 16) said the ratification is "timely", coming against the backdrop of the recent escalation of hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan. It also comes a day after air quality levels in Singapore hit 113, in "unhealthy" range of the Pollutant Standards Index, due to increased hotspot activity in Sumatra.

"Transboundary haze pollution has been plaguing our region for decades. There is an urgent need for effective action at the source, including deterrence, investigation and enforcement against errant companies responsible for the haze," the ministry said in a statement.

Due to a change in wind direction, the PSI readings for Tuesday were in the 'moderate' range.

In a Facebook post, Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan wrote that he was glad that the haze situation in Singapore had improved on Tuesday, and believed that Wednesday "should be in the 'moderate' range as well due to favorable wind direction".

Dr Balakrishnan reiterated Singapore's stand that there is a pressing need for more effective measures on the ground, and wrote that "Singapore looks forward to closer cooperation with the Indonesian government and our ASEAN partners to tackle this recurrent problem".

The National Environment Agency (NEA) reported that the total number of hotspots detected in Sumatra today was seven. The low hotspot count was due to partial satellite coverage and cloud cover. But it noted that widespread smoke haze was observed over southern and central Sumatra.

NEA said Singapore could still experience occasional, slightly hazy conditions in the next fortnight, as periods of consecutive dry days are common over the region during the Southwest Monsoon season.

- CNA/ly/xy/xk

Indonesia finally ratifies 2002 haze pact
Siau Ming En Today Online 17 Sep 14;

SINGAPORE — Twelve years after signing the regional haze pact, Indonesia’s Parliament gave its unanimous approval yesterday to ratify the pact, offering a glimmer of hope that more would be done to ensure fewer haze episodes for Singapore and other neighbouring countries.

In doing so, Indonesia became the last of the 10 countries to ratify the 2002 ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Signing an international treaty only expresses an intention to comply and a treaty becomes binding only when a country ratifies it.

Experts TODAY spoke to felt the move reflected Indonesia’s readiness to address the issue, but considerable challenges remain. Policies and enforcement efforts could be hindered by the layers of bureaucracy in the Indonesian government and further complicated by conflict between local communities and plantation owners, for instance.

Indonesia’s delay in ratifying the haze pact became a sticking point when Singapore experienced its worst bout of haze in June last year, when Pollutant Standards Index levels skyrocketed to an unprecedented 401.

Various Singaporean ministers have also spoken out against Indonesia’s non-ratification. At a foreign ministers’ meeting in Myanmar in May, Foreign Minister K Shanmugamcalled on Indonesia to ratify the pact, citing concerns that a possible El Nino phenomenon predicted for the year could exacerbate any haze situation.

Last month, Singapore passed laws on transboundary haze pollution that allow entities causing or contributing to unhealthy levels of haze here to be fined up to S$2 million.

Under the ASEAN haze pact, member nations are required to cooperate in developing and implementing measures that prevent, monitor and mitigate transboundary haze pollution. This includes controlling sources of land and forest fires, developing monitoring systems and exchanging information, among other things. They are also to respond promptly to requests for relevant information sought by other countries that are or may be affected by transboundary haze pollution.

Welcoming the Indonesian Parliament’s decision to ratify the pact yesterday, Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources noted the “urgent need” for effective action at the source, including deterrence, investigation and enforcement against errant companies responsible for the haze. Speaking to TODAY, Singapore Institute of International Affairs deputy director and fellow for ASEAN business and sustainability Chua Chin Wei said Indonesia’s layers of bureaucracy as well as the impending change in government made it hard to say if impact from the ratification would be felt.

“As far as we know, the budget for 2015 has already been fixed by the current administration. So even if (it) wants to implement new programmes or new initiatives, it will probably have to wait until 2016 where the new administration has the full ability to divert resources to address these issues,” he said.

National University of Singapore law professor Alan Tan Khee-Jin felt the move signalled Indonesia’s readiness to acknowledge the scale of the problem and the damage caused, but pointed out that agreement emphasises cooperation and there is no provision for compulsory dispute settlement.

“Fundamentally, the agreement cannot resolve the core causes of the fires and haze — these include poor law enforcement, corruption, and weak central control over local players,” he said. He also noted the complex land use issues on the ground. For example, uncertainties lead to local communities being pushed out of their lands by plantation owners, leading to cases of fires being deliberately set in retaliation. Such issues, he said, require long-term resolution.

Singapore Environment Council chief executive officer Jose Raymond noted that the ratification will allow more sharing of information between ASEAN members in the areas of policy development and haze mitigation measures, among other fields. It will complement the progress made on the Haze Monitoring System — which uses hot-spot data and satellite images to pinpoint illegal burning activities — that was approved by ASEAN leaders in October last year, he said.

A main stumbling block with the system had been the sharing of concession maps by the Indonesia and Malaysia governments due to legal constraints. Mr Chua said the pact provides for protocols for collaboration. “There could be a slight increase in the inclination to cooperate in terms of submission of the concession maps into the haze monitoring system.”

Indonesia to ratify Asean haze deal as API rises in Malaysia, Singapore
The Star 16 Sep 14;

JAKARTA: Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday voted to ratify a regional agreement on cross-border haze as fires ripped through forests in west of the country, according to the AFP.

Haze conditions were reported mostly in the south of Peninsular Malaysia, mirroring the situation in Sarawak and Sabah.

Areas like Sri Aman in Sarawak recorded an air quality index (API) of 99 at 8am on Tuesday. According to satellite imagery, the hotspot count was a staggering 673 on Borneo island.

Officials in Singapore and Malaysia have responded furiously to Indonesian forest fires, which have intensified and become more frequent in recent years.

Singapore's air pollution rose to unhealthy levels on Monday as Indonesian authorities failed to control fires in Sumatra island's vast tracts of tropical forest.

Parliament's decision has been passed into law.

The agreement obliges Indonesia to strengthen its policies on forest fires and haze, actively participate in regional decision-making on the issue and dedicate more resources to the problem, regionally and domestically.

Indonesia signed the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution 12 years ago and has been under increasing pressure to ratify the document, beginning deliberations in earnest in January.

"Indonesia has already carried out operations for the prevention, mitigation of forest fires and haze, and recovery activities, at the national level," parliament said in a statement.

"But, to handle cross-border pollution, Indonesia and other Asean nations recognise that prevention and mitigation need to be done together," it said.

While Singapore and Malaysia are smothered in haze from Indonesian forests every year, fires in June last year caused the region's worst pollution crisis in a decade, renewing calls for action in Indonesia.

Authorities have said most of the fires are deliberately lit to clear land for commercial plantations, such as paper and palm oil, and have arrested people caught in the act.

S'pore welcomes Jakarta's move to ratify haze pact
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja The Straits Times AsiaOne 19 Sep 14;

Indonesia's Parliament unanimously agreed to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, in a move officials hailed as a new chapter in the country's efforts to take a stronger lead in tackling an annual problem that has irked residents in affected areas and neighbouring countries.

"This is the right step for Indonesia to show that it is serious in addressing the transboundary haze caused by forest and plantation fires," Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya told Parliament yesterday. Ratification, he stressed, would benefit Indonesia the most as it would better protect citizens from the negative effects of forest fires and safeguard the country's natural resources.

All nine parties in the outgoing Parliament yesterday backed a Bill to ratify the agreement, 12 years after Indonesia signed it alongside the other nine ASEAN members - but failed to win approval for it from MPs until recently.

The Bill is expected to be formally signed into law by the President in the coming weeks, and after that an instrument of ratification will be deposited with the ASEAN secretary-general.

The House's reluctance in the past became a sticking point last year, when haze levels reached record highs in Riau as well as Malaysia and Singapore.

MPs had felt certain clauses could infringe the country's sovereignty, leaving Indonesia in the awkward position of being the only ASEAN member to hold out.

But the government has clarified that though the treaty obliged Indonesia to be responsible for responding rapidly to fires and cooperating with its neighbours, sovereignty was not negotiable.

Instead, the pact strengthened Indonesia's existing regulations and policies in dealing with fires.

"These responsibilities do not come with sanctions. Any differences among us (ASEAN members) will be settled amicably through discussions and consultation," Dr Balthasar added yesterday.

"Indonesia can make use of the human resources and equipment available within ASEAN countries," Mr Milton Pakpahan, a Democrat MP who helped to push the Bill through, told Parliament.

Singapore welcomed the Indonesian Parliament's decision to ratify the treaty, the Environment and Water Resources Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

It also said the ratification was timely, given the recent spike in the number of hot spots in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

"Singapore looks forward to closer cooperation with the Indonesian government and our ASEAN partners to tackle this recurrent problem," the ministry added.

Under the terms of the treaty, countries have to cooperate in taking measures to prevent, monitor and mitigate the haze by controlling the sources of fires, in exchanging information and technology, and in helping one another manage outbreaks.

Indonesia's Environment Ministry said yesterday that it had already begun taking measures in line with the ASEAN agreement.

Indonesia will also be starting cloud-seeding in the coming days to induce rain to douse forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.


Indonesia Ratifies Asean Haze Agreement
Jakarta Globe 16 Sep 14;

The Marina Bay Sands casino and resort is pictured on a hazy day in Singapore June 18, 2013. (Reuters Photo/Edgar Su)

Jakarta. The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to ratify a regional agreement on cross-border haze as fires ripped through forests in west of the country, choking neighboring Singapore with hazardous smog.

Officials in Singapore and Malaysia have responded furiously to Indonesian forest fires, which have intensified and become more frequent in recent years.

Singapore’s air pollution rose to unhealthy levels on Monday as the Indonesian government failed to control fires in Sumatra island’s vast tracts of tropical forest.

The parliament’s decision has been passed into law.

The agreement obliges the government to strengthen its policies on forest fires and haze, actively participate in regional decision-making on the issue and dedicate more resources to the problem, regionally and domestically.

Indonesia signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution 12 years ago and has been under increasing pressure to ratify the document, beginning deliberations in earnest in January.

“Indonesia has already carried out operations for the prevention, mitigation of forest fires and haze, and recovery activities, at the national level,” the House said in a statement.

“But, to handle cross-border pollution, Indonesia and other ASEAN nations recognize that prevention and mitigation need to be done together,” it said.

While Singapore and Malaysia are smothered in haze from Indonesian forests every year, fires in June last year caused the region’s worst pollution crisis in a decade, renewing calls for action in the archipelago.

Authorities have said most of the fires are deliberately lit to clear land for commercial plantations, such as paper and palm oil, and have arrested people caught in the act.

The June 2013 haze crisis sparked a diplomatic row with Indonesia claiming Malaysian and Singaporean companies with plantations on Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo were among those starting the fires.

Singapore last month passed a bill that gives the government powers to fine companies that cause or contribute to haze up to Sg$2 million ($1.6 million), regardless of whether they have an office in Singapore.

Agence France-Presse