S’pore will work with ASEAN members to establish haze centre, tackle root causes of haze: Grace Fu

SINGAPORE - Singapore will during its 2027 ASEAN chairmanship work toward establishing a region-wide coordinating centre for transboundary haze pollution control, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Nov 3.

This centre, which will be based in Indonesia, will strengthen cooperation and coordination in managing land and forest fires and transboundary haze, she said in Parliament.

Singapore will also work with other countries in the region to enhance the implementation of initiatives that tackle the root causes of haze, such as sustainable land and peatland management, and guidelines on crop burning, added Fu.

Fu was responding to questions from several MPs, including Hazlina Abdul Halim (East Coast GRC) and Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), on how transboundary haze was being tackled at the ASEAN level.

Such a centre, when established, will join other regional efforts to tackle the recurring pollution.

For instance, Singapore has been hosting a monitoring facility called the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre since 1993, which tracks hotspots in the region and provides early warning and alerts on haze.

The minister noted that the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution is the key framework for ASEAN Member States to work collectively to prevent, monitor and mitigate land and forest fires and the resultant haze.

This legally-binding agreement was signed in 2002 and in force since 2003. It commits members to preventing, monitoring and mitigating cross-border pollution.

Indonesia ratified the legally binding agreement in 2014. 

The regional haze centre, called the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control, is a key component of the agreement. But it needs six ASEAN member states to ratify an establishment agreement before it can be implemented.

Fu said Singapore plans to ratify the agreement in the next few days, and “will strongly encourage other ASEAN member states to do so.”

The centre also aims to facilitate cross-border exchanges of firefighting technology, expertise and resources, and to manage requests and activate regional emergency assistance, according to the agreement published on the ASEAN website.

The root cause of the haze blanketing Singapore and the region in September and October is the fires raging on forest and plantation land in Indonesia.

Most blazes are sparked by slash-and-burn agriculture practices, where farmers use fire to clear land. 

Noting that some nations in the bloc indicated they will be raising the transboundary haze issue at upcoming ASEAN meetings, Fu said: “Singapore will support these discussions, and share how Singapore intends to act against companies responsible for the haze.”

A few MPs also asked for updates on Singapore’s offer for assistance during the haze crisis in October.

On Oct 16, Fu had communicated with her Indonesian counterpart, Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat, to offer civilian assistance to support firefighting efforts as well as cloud seeding.

On Oct 19, Indonesia informed Singapore that it was able to handle the situation and did not require foreign assistance, said Fu.

She added: “Singapore respects Indonesia’s sovereignty and its assessment of its needs, including whether the establishment of a joint regional firefighting task force would be helpful.”