The Government has consistently offered assistance packages to the Indonesian government in the run-up to the traditional dry season from June to October, to complement Indonesia’s efforts in combating possible land and forest fires.
Channel NewsAsia 3 Jun 15;
SINGAPORE: The Republic on Wednesday (Jun 3) announced it is renewing its offer of assistance to Indonesia to combat possible land and forest fires that can result in transboundary haze.
The assistance package offered is the same as last year's and comprises:
One C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations;
=Up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry a fire-fighting assistance team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF);
=A team from SCDF to provide assessment and planning assistance to Indonesian counterparts in their fire-fighting efforts;
=High resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates; and
=One Chinook helicopter with one SCDF water bucket for aerial firefighting.
The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said the Government has since 2005 consistently offered assistance packages to the Indonesian government in the run-up to the traditional dry season from June to October, to complement Indonesia’s efforts in combating possible land and forest fires.
The region’s susceptibility to land and forest fires during the traditional dry season increases the probability of transboundary haze. This is a problem which has confronted the southern ASEAN region for decades. Singapore was affected by transboundary haze pollution in September and October last year, the ministry added.
Furthermore, the El Nino phenomenon this year may cause drier weather, which could exacerbate the impact of transboundary haze, it said.
- CNA/kk
Singapore renews haze assistance package to Indonesia as dry season approaches
Today Online 3 Jun 15;
SINGAPORE — As the region enters the traditional dry season, Singapore has renewed its offer to help Indonesia to combat possible land and forest fires which can result in transboundary haze, said the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) today (June 3).
Noting that the region could be affected by the El Nino phenomenon this year, the ministry said: “This could result in drier weather which would exacerbate the impact of transboundary haze caused by land and forest fires.”
Same as last year’s assistance package, Singapore will offer: One C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations, up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry a fire-fighting assistance team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), a team from SCDF to provide assessment and planning assistance to Indonesian counterparts in their fire-fighting efforts, high resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates, as well as one Chinook helicopter with one SCDF water bucket for aerial fire-fighting.
Since 2005, the Government has consistently offered assistance packages to Indonesia to complement its efforts in combating possible land and forest fires, said the MEWR.
The traditional dry season starts this month until October. Singapore was affected by transboundary haze pollution in September and October last year.
Singapore offers aid to Indonesia again to fight haze
AsiaOne 3 Jun 15;
SINGAPORE - Singapore has renewed its offer of assistance to Indonesia to fight land and forest fires that can cause transboundary haze.
The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) said in a statement today (Jun 3) that the assistance package this year is the same as last year's.
Singapore is offering Indonesia the use of a C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding, the use of up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry a fire-fighting assistance team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) - which will help Indonesian fire-fighters assess and plan their efforts, the use of a Chinook helicopter with one SCDF water bucket for aerial fire-fighting, and high-resolution satellite images and hotspot coordinates.
MEWR said that Singapore has offered fire-fighting assistance, in the run-up to the traditional dry season from June to October, to Indonesia consistently since 2005.
Haze in Singapore occurs when winds bring in smoke from land and forest fires in Indonesia. Singapore was affected by the haze pollution in September and October last year.
MEWR has said that the region could be affected by the El Nino phenomenon - resulting in drier weather - this year, which could worsen the haze problem.
