Singapore has offered to collaborate with Indonesia on a second project in the fire-prone Sumatra region, a source of much of the haze that has come this way since the early 1990s.
Talks between government officials, which are at an exploratory stage, have identified the vast South Sumatra province as a possible area for the new collaboration.
This comes more than four years after both sides agreed to work on a $1 million project in neighbouring Jambi province.
Officials hope the second collaboration will replicate the success seen in Jambi, where the number of recorded hot spots from forest fires has dropped by more than 20 per cent in the past few years.
The funds there were invested in initiatives such as programmes to teach farmers how to cultivate crops without resorting to burning, and training local officials to interpret satellite pictures so they can monitor hot spots.
Discussions on the new plans took place at a meeting of Asean environment ministers here yesterday. At a press conference afterwards, Indonesia’s Environment Minister Gusti Hatta said he was confident that the country’s Parliament would ratify the 2002 Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution by the end of the year.
This comes more than two years after MPs rejected the pact, after pointing out that many foreign-owned plantation companies, not local farmers, were culpable for much of the forest clearing.
Yesterday, Professor Hatta said efforts to get the treaty ratified were also impeded by time constraints and the need to push through a raft of other legislation.
‘Our ministry has in the past put the treaty up for ratification (in Parliament) but it has been resisted up to now,’ he said, adding: ‘At last ratification will be discussed in Parliament this year.’
Speaking to The Straits Times later, Prof Hatta reiterated his intention to give the issue priority.
He also said that work has continued on the ground to clamp down on illegal fire-starters.
‘The important thing is, Indonesia is very serious about combating the fires,’ he said.
Prof Hatta was here for the 11th meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which was also attended by representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Asean Secretariat.
At the press conference, Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said the haze could make a return after this June, due to anticipated drier conditions in the region at that time of year.
‘This means that we have to continue to be vigilant,’ he said.
Dry spells stretching over several weeks encourage farmers to clear the land for the annual plantation season.
Asked why South Sumatra was picked for the second collaboration project, he said that several areas were identified, but it was chosen as it is near to Jambi: ‘That part of Sumatra contributes quite significantly to the haze here.’
The amount of resources to be committed is likely to parallel the Jambi project, although it will also depend on the needs on the ground, Dr Yaacob said.
‘At the basic level, it will replicate the training, build up capacity (and) air quality monitoring station,’ he added.
Three other Asean members - Brunei, Thailand and Malaysia - also expressed interest in projects to combat burning in fire-prone provinces. Malaysia, for example, has an ongoing collaboration with Indonesia in the fire-prone province of Riau.
At yesterday’s meeting, the Asean ministers also agreed to build up the capacity of each country’s weather and fire monitoring systems, as a way to standardise the way they manage the haze.
Weather patterns will also be studied over the long term to monitor for climate change in the region, said a spokesman for the National Environment Agency.
