Haze: Singapore can help Indonesia over plantation firms ownership
Singapore can help Indonesia unravel the ownership of companies linked to the open burning in the archipelago that has caused a haze to blanket parts of Southeast Asia this past week, thus making them legally accountable for the disaster.
World Resources Institute forests director Dr Nigel Sizer wrote in the Singapore Straits Times today that some of the companies linked to the fires have strong links to Singapore, this knowledge will prove to to be extremely useful for Indonesian prosecutors once investigations have been completed into identifying those responsible for open air burning which caused the haze pollution.
Singapore can also explore a range of options for legal sanction and penalty within its own jurisdiction in relation to harm done to the people and economy of the country. Such steps will all help to send a signal that those who commit forest crimes in Indonesia are more likely to be held accountable in the future, he said in the opinions column of the Singapore daily.
This, in turn, will help to reduce the risk of another haze crisis, which has become an annual event over the past two decades, affecting millions of people in Malaysia and Singapore. The economic losses suffered by both countries is another incentive to prevent yet another haze crisis.
Sizer wrote that amid the finger pointing and blame game on the haze pollution, there was a golden opportunity for Indonesia’s top policy makers to turn the crisis into an opportunity to overhaul the way different government agencies work together.
It is time to move beyond the claims and counter-claims and instead, analyse the facts, learn quickly and ensure political leaders, companies and communities take appropriate action to prevent this crisis from recurring, he said.
Reforms introduced by policy makers must include substantial investment in a well-trained, professional cadre of police officers, local prosecutors, tax officials, and forestry, agricultural, planning and mapping specialists, he added.
The booming oil palm and forestry sectors generate ample tax revenue for the Indonesian government which will more than cover the costs of investment in this enhanced capacity, Sizer wrote.
Local communities should be empowered to manage and invest and encouraged to protect their forest lands.
In recent years, the Forestry Ministry has worked to turn more land over to the communities, encouraging smaller-scale, locally-owned forest management.
The Indonesian government has already been making important efforts to improve forest management. The recent extension of the moratorium on new concessions, across an area of forest almost the size of Japan, was a bold move.
Efforts to enhance coordination and data sharing between government agencies have been strengthened by the One Map initiative in Indonesia, which seeks to establish an official map for forest boundaries and concessions.
Recent research by the Centre for International Forestry Research, an international research organisation based in Bogor, shows that when communities’ rights to manage forest land are recognised by governments, the rates of forest clearing usually go down.
Based on this experience, Indonesia would do well to accelerate efforts to grant local communities a larger portion of the national forest estate.
Finally, growth in the palm oil and pulp and paper industry is critical for Indonesia to create jobs, economic growth, and tax revenues, Sizer wrote.
According to recent analysis by WRI and partners, there is more than enough already-cleared land in Indonesia to support plantation expansion for many years to come.
Publicly available information such as satellite data indicates where the hot spots are and combined with maps of palm oil, tree plantation, and logging licences, this has shown which oil palm plantations and pulpwoods has fire alerts.
Although this is a preliminary analysis, but several points have emerged, firstly, most of the fire alerts across Indonesia last week were in just one province, Riau.
Within Riau, 52 per cent of the fire alerts were seen within the boundaries of pulpwood and oil palm plantations. Fewer alerts were found in officially protected forest areas, such as national parks, or in areas licensed for selective logging of natural forest.
About 48 per cent of the fire alerts were outside of company concessions on land controlled and managed by others, including local communities.
Second, based on the official Indonesian concession maps published by the Ministry of Forestry from 2010, two groups of companies, Sinar Mas and Raja Garuda Mas, control or are closely affiliated with the concessions with the largest number of Nasa fire alerts.
A total of 32 company concessions where at least 10 fire alerts were observed during the period 12-20 June. Third, and most importantly, more detailed analysis, with up-to-date company concession maps, is not possible because these maps are not available.
Some concession boundaries may have shifted in recent years, some companies have changed hands, and updated information – which can quickly be converted into new maps – would enable officials and companies to better understand where and why the fires are burning, as well as being crucial for any efforts at prosecution.
Indonesian officials are promising a thorough investigation while Malaysia’s Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam has said companies responsible for carrying out open burning which contributed to the haze should be prosecuted, including Malaysian firms. – June 26, 2013.
Haze: Singapore can help Indonesia over plantation firms ownership
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