If Indonesia continues along this path, regional relationships will be strained, and economies will be seriously affected.
Advertisement
Cars and motorcycles are seen on a bridge as haze shrouds Pekanbaru, in Indonesia’s Riau province, in this picture taken by Antara Foto.
At the heart of the problem are palm oil plantation owners, who use cheap and easy slash-and-burn techniques to clear forests and meet rising global demand for the oil used for cooking and in household products from shampoo to ice cream. In Singapore, a three-hour pollution index was at an “unhealthy” level today. According to statistics released by Greenpeace, there is up to 60 billion tonnes of carbon in Indonesian peat, with over 75 percent of fire hotspots in Indonesia occurring on peatland.
The city state passed a law previous year that allows it to sue companies or individuals – based in any country – that cause haze, a step that other nations could emulate to boost enforcement, Sembiring said. These countries, all of which are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have attempted to bring about a multilateral solution to the crisis.
The MEWR team had reiterated and explained Singapore’s offer of assistance in tackling land and forest fires that are causing the haze.
Indonesia has struggled for years to contain forest fires and the resulting haze despite repeatedly promising to punish perpetrators.
But El Nino is no excuse – humans are responsible for both lighting fires and creating conditions that enable them to burn. This was attributed to the loss of crops and commodities originating from plantations, and the loss of environmental goods such as tropical rainforests. Most of those were suffering from respiratory ailments, although eye infections and skin irritation have also been reported.
The smog has disrupted aviation and forced school closures across the region.
“It will hopefully reduce the haze from what we are experiencing right now”, said a statement by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
“Our focus will remain on monitoring the health of our people”.
Singapore has responded by launching legal action against those Indonesian companies to blame for the fires.
Indonesia has also angered neighbours by going on the offensive.
The fires are the source of much concern in the region. “So why should there be an apology?”
Advertisement
On Thursday, Indonesia’s disaster chief, Willem Rampangilei, turned down a Singaporean offer to help by saying “everything was under control” and that he believed rains would arrive by early November.
