Shanmugam: "Only so much" Singapore can do to help fight haze

The Straits Times AsiaOne 21 Sep 15;

SINGAPORE - There is "only so much" Singapore can do to prevent the haze from recurring, Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam said on Sunday.

In a Facebook post, Mr Shanmugam acknowledged that Singaporeans' frustrations with the yearly recurrence of the haze was amplified because it was a problem that could be prevented.

"The frustration of our people is all the greater because the haze can be prevented. The majority of the fires are man-made, by companies seeking to profit while people pay the costs."

Mr Shanmugam highlighted that Singapore had taken various efforts to combat the haze: "We have offered assistance to help fight the fires (including this year, but our offer has yet to be accepted). We passed a bill in August 2014 that would allow us to prosecute errant companies found to be causing or contributing to the haze. We have asked Indonesia to give us the names of the companies so that we can consider if we can take action against them."

However, he said that Singapore's ability to stop the fires was limited as they are occurring in another country.

Mr Shanmugam stressed that Indonesia also had a responsibility to take legal and enforcement action against errant companies which violated Indonesia's own laws.

He described as "positive steps" the Indonesian government's actions to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and assets to deal with the haze, and prosecute companies.

In his post, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, pointed out that the pollution affected not only Singaporeans, but also Indonesians closest to the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan who were the worst affected.

He said that the haze was not only a health hazard which especially affected the young, the elderly and those with chronic lung and heart conditions, but also affected regional economies.

"The 1997 haze cost Southeast Asia an estimated US$9 billion (S$12.6 billion). The potential loss to Riau's economy this year has been estimated at around eight per cent of the province's GDP - some Rp20 trillion (S$1.8 billion)."

Mr Shanmugam revealed that he had expressed "deep concern" while speaking with Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi on Friday, while emphasising that a longer-term solution was necessary.

He said that there had been no concrete progress thus far despite Singapore's efforts to raise the issue at ASEAN, the United Nations and other fora and suggest ways for regional countries to co-operate.

He concluded that "a lasting solution is needed. Our people expect that. And understandly so".

The haze this year has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Indonesia has been sending conflicting signals on Singapore's offer to aid in dealing with the haze. Earlier, Channel NewsAsia reported that Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla had invited Singapore to help, only for Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar to decline Singapore's offer.

In Singapore, the air quality has been in the "unhealthy" range for most of the week leading up to Sunday, Sep 20, when the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix is scheduled to take place.

Race organisers had previously released a statement clarifying that the racing and entertainment programmes from Sep 18-20 would not be altered despite the hazy weather, and the practice sessions and concerts on Friday and Saturday proceeded smoothly.

On Sunday, however, the air quality had improved and fallen back into the "moderate" range, according to the National Environment Agency.

Greater interest in plants with air purification abilities amid hazy conditions in Singapore
The plant called mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata), for example, has a special air purifying ability to go along with its unusual name.
Janice Lim Channel NewsAsia 20 Sep 15;

SINGAPORE: With the return of the haze recently, nurseries are seeing greater interest in these plants and companies are finding ways to further enhance their air purification abilities.

While plants in general are able to purify air, research in the United States and Australia has shown that there are some plants that perform this function better than others.

The plant called mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata), for example, has a special air purifying ability to go along with its unusual name - it can absorb harmful substances, such as benzene and formaldehyde, which could be present in the air.

These toxic particles are known as volatile organic compounds and are usually found in paints or new furniture. Long-term exposure to these substances is potentially harmful to human health.

Other plants with similar abilities include the peace lily, the Boston fern and the money plant. Besides absorbing toxic particles, these plants also provide fresh oxygen to the environment and release negative ions which are beneficial for one's health.

Mr Peter Cheok of Far East Flora said Singaporeans are always looking for plant types suitable for an indoor environment.

"Particularly because Singaporeans are usually very busy with work, we are using plants which are suitable for indoor and do not require much maintenance, easier to take care of and yet will still grow well. This range of plants has always been popular with our customers," said Mr Cheok.

One biotech company in Singapore, In Vitro, has found that injecting microorganisms into the soil can increase the plants' air purification abilities by up to 10 times.

The company's founder, Mr Kris Soh, said: "Plants and microorganisms have a symbiotic relationship. Toxic gases or impurities in the air are trapped by plants, which move them from their leaves to their roots. During this process, the plants will remove or to break down certain levels of these toxic gases. The rest that is not being broken down will be fed to micro-organisms, which will break them down biologically into smaller, harmless particles as well as water."

In turn, micro-organisms produce carbon dioxide and water which plants - using energy from the sun - convert into food.

- CNA/xk