Haze a Burning Issue for Indonesia's Neighbors
4/19/99
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Title: Haze a Burning Issue for Indonesia's Neighbors
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: April 14, 1999
Byline: Glenda Korporaal
Singapore: Concern is rising in South-East Asia about a return of the
haze in the upcoming dry season when Indonesian authorities will be
preoccupied with the June elections.
A smoke haze from raging forest fires in Sumatra has been evident in
Singapore and peninsula Malaysia over the past few days pushing up
pollution indexes in both regions.
With the dry season still several months away, there is concern that
the most recent burnings may be the beginning of a more serious
environmental problem.
Association of South-East Asian Nations environment ministers on
Friday called for an immediate "zero burning policy" to be promoted
amongst plantation owners and the timber industry in Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to prevent a repeat of the haze
disaster of 1997/98.
Forest fires raging in Indonesia cast a pall over Malaysia and
Singapore over that period and were seen as one of the worst
environmental disasters ever faced in the region.
After meeting in Brunei to discuss the issue, the ASEAN ministers
issued a statement reiterating the importance of remaining "vigilant"
and taking "immediate and firm actions" as part of a regional action
plan to combat the haze. It said a few hotspots had been detected by
satellite photos since April 12.
Singapore's Environment Minister, Mr Yeo Cheow Tong, told a press
conference after the meeting that Singapore was alarmed at the
prospect of the haze returning to the region.
A Singapore MP, Mr Simon Tay, said: "The prognosis for the year is
bad. It will be left to the vagaries of the weather." He called for
co-operation between ASEAN members to fight the haze to be given the
force of a formal legal treaty with enforcement teeth.