No agreement on concession maps at haze meeting

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: There have been small, but positive, steps forward in regional efforts to tackle transboundary haze.

But participants from the five member states of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee also expressed disappointment at the slow progress of the efforts, and frustration at the lack of transparency in the process.

The committee is holding its 16th meeting in Brunei and has already seen negotiations stall over the sharing of maps that show land use and concessions.

But Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said this will not stop Singapore from moving forward with its own plans to tackle the haze.

Leaders at this year’s meeting have been briefed that the haze could be worse this year than in 2013.

And they acknowledged the urgent need for action, after a prolonged dry season caused hazy skies earlier this year.

There has already been some progress, with Indonesia moving closer to ratifying the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Deputy Minister of Degradation Control and Climate Change at Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment, Arief Yuwono, said Indonesia is at the second of four hearings of the parliamentary process of being ratified.

Singapore and Indonesia also made progress in finalising a new Memorandum of Understanding, a move that will allow Singapore and Jambi to collaborate in tackling haze pollution. Dr Balakrishnan told reporters he hopes for it to be finalised by this year.

In Brunei last October, leaders had agreed to adopt the ASEAN Sub-Regional Haze Monitoring System developed by Singapore.

The system would need Indonesia, for example, to provide concession or land use maps to identify errant companies involved in the illegal burning of land.

But it was clear by the end of the meeting that this is not going to happen anytime soon.

Mr Arief said: “Indonesia is in the process of consolidating all its maps. We call it the One Map. So as long as this process is not finished yet, we cannot give that information.”

This process is expected to take about two years.

Malaysia also said it would not share its concession maps, but would provide information on areas with open burning at the government-to-government level.

Dr Balakrishnan said alternative solutions have to be developed in the meantime.

He said Singapore has asked Indonesia and Malaysia to share names of errant firms and evidence that has been unearthed in their own investigations into the causes of the haze.

But he also expressed frustration at the slow pace of these efforts and disappointment at a lack of transparency.

He said such sharing of information would become more important as Singapore takes the next step in tabling its Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill.

Dr Balakrishnan said: “The progress of our own bill on Transboundary Haze will not be impacted by this. We have completed a period of public consultation.

“Some very good ideas and suggestions and potential amendments have come in and I am seriously reviewing which parts will need to be tweaked.”

He emphasised that the haze issue can only be solved with decisive government action, including investigation and enforcement, and cross-border collaboration. 

No agreement on concession maps at haze meeting