‘Brutally-frank’ Vivian says haze a deliberate, man-made tragedy, crime

FRANCIS MICAH LAW Today Online 4 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE — He may be the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister, but Dr Vivian Balakrishnan put aside diplomatic niceties when talking about how the transboundary haze had blighted the region during a forum today (Nov 3).

“I know foreign ministers are supposed to be nice, smiley, diplomatic people. But since I used to be the Environment Minister, I can be frank. Brutally frank,” he said during his plenary address at the 4th Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Without mincing his words, Dr Balakrishnan described the transboundary haze, caused by forest fires in Indonesia, as “a deliberate, man-made tragedy” and “a crime”.

“It would be bad enough if this was a natural disaster. We would all shake our heads, huddle together, reach out, help one another.

“But this is not a natural disaster. This is ... vandalism against society, against the environment, and ultimately, against ourselves,” he said.

“It has impaired the health of millions of people, compromised the safety of aircraft, and damaged our regional economy.”

Dr Balakrishnan also hit out at the “handful of big companies” that are “profiting from this entire exercise at the expense of the environment and of the rest of society”. “This is a classic example of privatising the gain and socialising the pain,” he added.

Saying that a “multi-faceted solution” is needed to solve the perennial haze problem, the Foreign Minister called on neighbouring countries to “intensify regional and international cooperation in order to apply effective legal and commercial pressure on these few errant companies so that they will stop their unsustainable and irresponsible land and forest clearing”.

Two Indonesian ministers, including Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, said last week the government will not disclose the names of companies identified as suspects in forest and land fires.

Dr Balakrishnan noted that the Singapore Environment Council and Consumers Association of Singapore had been stepping up their efforts to get leading retailers to declare their products and supply chains are from sustainable sources. This had caused retailers to withdraw some products from their shelves.

“These may be symbolic, it may not cost the companies a lot of money at this point in time, but I think it sends a very clear signal that enough is enough, and that people are going to vote with their wallets and their feet,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

The minister will be representing Singapore at the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Paris from Nov 30 to Dec 11, where over 190 countries will be working towards a universal agreement on climate change.


Transboundary haze 'a man-made tragedy and crime': Vivian Balakrishnan
Citing growing consumer awareness on sustainable business practices and companies' supply chains, Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs says firms should be more transparent in their dealings and policies.
Patrick John Lim, Channel NewsAsia 3 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE: The ongoing transboundary haze is "a man-made tragedy and a crime", said Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

Speaking at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development on Tuesday (Nov 3), Dr Balakrishnan reiterated the need for "effective legal and commercial pressure" on the handful of companies responsible for the haze.

He said more pressure must be put on firms responsible for the pollution. He added: “It would be bad enough if this was a natural disaster. We would all shake our heads, huddle together, reach out and help one another.

“But this is not a natural disaster. This is a deliberate man-made tragedy, vandalism against society, the environment and ultimately against ourselves. It has impaired the health of millions of people, compromised the safety of aircraft and damaged our regional economy."

Citing growing consumer awareness on sustainable business practices and companies' supply chains, he said firms should be more transparent in their dealings and policies.

"We also need to intensify regional and international cooperation in order to apply effective legal and commercial pressure on these few errant companies, so that they will stop their unsustainable and irresponsible forest clearing," said Dr Balakrishnan.

In 2014, Singapore passed a bill that would let the Government impose fines on companies that cause or contribute to transboundary haze pollution. Dr Balakrishnan was Minister for the Environment and Water Resources at that time.

Meanwhile, the fight against the haze continued on Tuesday, with the Singapore Hotels Association (SHA) saying it will get members to obtain their paper and pulp materials from sustainable sources.

The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and Consumer Association of Singapore said the move to encourage industry partners to commit to green procurement will send a strong signal to firms that contribute to the haze.

SEC's executive director, Edwin Seah, said: "It’s significant because the SHA is one of the key business associations. So for them to come out on their own accord that they want to be part of this, it's very helpful and helps continue the momentum that was started in the early part of October."

Singapore supermarket chains such as NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong last month removed products from firms linked to the forest fires.

Satya Tripathi, director and executive head of the UN Office for REDD+ and Coordination in Indonesia, said: "People are not just an element of the conversation but the most significant part of the conversation.

“So, people need to demand these things and I think it’s very appropriate that if some products went off the shelves in Singapore at the demand of the people. It’s actually people who decide these things. That puts pressure on all other actors for their behaviour, for their activities to be much more sustainable on the planet."

According to SEC, 126 companies - not including SHA members - have declared that they are getting their wood, paper and/or pulp materials from sustainable sources.

The Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development saw more than 500 business leaders, investors, NGOs and policymakers around the world discussing solutions for climate action and delivering on sustainable development goals.

- CNA/ek/xk


Haze is a crime, says Balakrishnan
Wong Siew Ying, My Paper AsiaOne 4 Nov 15;

THE haze problem has been described as a man-made tragedy, a crime and an act of vandalism in some of the strongest remarks yet by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

The Singapore Government was reviewing its procurement practices to see how it can support companies that have instituted sustainable practices, he told a forum yesterday.

"This will take into account the practices not just of that particular company, but of your suppliers in your chain," Dr Balakrishnan said.

The Government expects firms to be transparent about supply chains, particularly those in the oil, palm oil and the forestry sectors, he added.

Other companies in the private sector are urged to likewise practise "sustainable procurement", he said.

Speaking at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development, he emphasised the need to intensify regional and international co-operation to exert "effective legal and commercial pressure" on a handful of companies involved in starting fires to clear land and forest in Indonesia.

Calling the haze "a crime", he said: "This is not a natural disaster. This is a deliberate, man-made tragedy, vandalism against society, against the environment, and ultimately, against ourselves." The forum was held at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.

The thick haze, carried by winds from Indonesia, blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and even southern Thailand in recent months, forcing school closures as air quality deteriorated to hazardous levels.

Dr Balakrishnan, a former Environment and Water Resources Minister, said the haze has also sparked growing demand for responsible and sustainable business practices.

In September, Singapore wielded the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, serving "preventive measure notices" on four Indonesian firms: PT Rimba Hutani Mas, PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries, PT Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa and PT Wachyuni Mandira.

Investigations indicated the haze may have been contributed to by fires in lands held via concessions under the firms.

A notice was also served on Asia Pulp and Paper seeking information on its units in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires in their concessions.

Indonesia has also been investigating companies. In September, it took four plantation firms to task for alleged illegal land clearing, by suspending or revoking their licences.


Multi-faceted solution needed to tackle transboundary haze: Vivian Balakrishnan
Angela Tan Business Times 3 Nov 15;

A multi-faceted solution is needed to tackle transboundary haze, Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, said.

Speaking at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development on Tuesday, he noted that countries are individually trying to tackle transboundary haze. Within Asean, there is also the Transboundary Haze Agreement, where members have taken a multilateral approach to attempting to put out the recent fires. There is also a growing demand for responsible and sustainable business practices.

"But we also need to intensify regional and international cooperation in order to apply effective legal and commercial pressure on these few errant companies so that they will stop their unsustainable and irresponsible land and forest clearing," Dr Balakrishnan said.

"Ultimately we also need to ensure that there is a price to be paid for damaging our health, damaging our environment and damaging the economy."

He said the transboundary haze that has afflicted South-east Asia is "a man-made tragedy and a crime".

"This is a deliberate, man-made tragedy. Vandalism against society, against the environment, and ultimately, against ourselves. It has impaired the health of millions of people, compromised the safety of aircraft, and damaged our regional economy," he said.

According to figures cited, more than two million hectares of forests - a lot of which was growing on peatland or millennia-worth of carbon captured in the ground - have been burnt this year. An estimated 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide has been released.

Dr Balakrishnan said all this is happening because of a handful of people, a handful of big companies, which are profiting at the expense of the environment and of the rest of society.

"This is a classic example of privatising the gain and socialising the pain," the minister said.

"So we need political will, we need the ability to investigate thoroughly, we need the willingness to enforce effectively, we need responsible business behaviour, we need ethical investors and we need vigilant consumers to pledge our common commitment towards a sustainable future...," he said.