Time for an article that is not courtesy of Mr Fairfax or Murdoch, in fact this is a Straits Times opinion piece I found by search engine about haze in Singapore caused by Indonesian forest fires. - Yvonne!
Haze: Why Jakarta should accept international help
By Janadas Devan, Senior Writer Nov 04, 2006
The Straits TimesTHE Indonesia forest fires are, in the first instance, a health hazard. Asthmatics in five countries cannot breathe, the old and infirm cannot go out, and the young and healthy have to ration their time outdoors because Indonesia, without fail, belches smoke into the atmosphere every dry season.
In addition, the forest fires are also a staggering environmental disaster - for Indonesia itself, but also for the globe.
The 1997-98 fires, the worst on record, pumped 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, almost half of what the United States emitted that year fuelling the world's largest economy. This year's fires probably emitted more than one billion tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of 15 per cent of all emissions from burning fossil fuels worldwide.
What is the use of the world meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, next week to discuss further curbs on the emission of greenhouse gases if Indonesia's pyromaniacs are free to routinely evaporate the carbon stored in their forests and peatlands into the atmosphere?
According to the experts at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFR) in Bogor, Indonesia, the country's peatlands contain 21per cent of the earth's land-based carbon. Unless Kalimantan's annual peatland fires - which have accounted for 60 to 80 per cent of the haze since 1997-98, according to CIFR's experts - are brought to an end soon, all that carbon can end up as greenhouse gas.
A 2002 study in Nature estimated that Indonesia's annual fires 'launched enough carbon into the atmosphere to completely offset a year's worth of the planet's ability to control greenhouse emissions'. In other words, they cancel out all that humanity can hope to achieve by means of the Kyoto accord on global warming.
The annual fires are also a regional economic and strategic disaster. The 1997-98 fires, for instance, cost regional economies US$9 billion (S$14.1 billion), according to the Asean Secretariat's environment and disaster management centre. In addition to the immediate economic cost, there is also the long-term damage to the region's credibility.
What does it say of Asean's ability to compete effectively with China and India if it cannot prevent its territory from being periodically blanketed by smoke? What does it say of Asean as an attractive destination for investors if the largest country in the grouping, Indonesia, proves unable to prevent forest fires?
At bottom, the fires reflect a failure of governance. The longer Indonesia takes to resolve this issue, the more settled will the impression become that the region cannot deal effectively with its problems. And the more settled that impression becomes, the less credible will Asean as a whole seem.
Helping a neighbour
FOR all these reasons, Singapore has made a strong effort internationally to help Indonesia help itself.
Speaking before a United Nations committee on sustainable development last week, Singapore diplomat Kevin Cheok said Indonesia's annual forest fires have global as well as regional consequence, and thus 'require global action'.
'The scale and severity of the problem means Asean will require international assistance, including from the UN,' he said.
Ultimately, this is a problem that can be solved only if Indonesians wish to solve it. The fires, after all, contravene Indonesian law, and only the Indonesian government can enforce those laws. But that does not mean other Asean countries - especially Malaysia and Singapore, the two most affected by the haze, besides Indonesia itself - as well as international agencies do not have a role to play, as Mr Cheok noted.
If one neighbour's house is on fire, one would not hesitate to lend him one's hose. Similarly, because Indonesia is our largest close neighbour, and because it contains almost half of Asean's population, we would not hesitate to help it douse its forest fires. And neither would the rest of Asean or the UN.
The difficulty is persuading the Indonesian authorities to accept this help. Astonishingly, the Indonesian representative at the UN committee, Ms Adiyatwidi Adiwoso Asmady, characterised Singapore's call for international assistance as 'badgering'.
It 'is tantamount to interference in the domestic affairs of Indonesians', she claimed.
She went on to suggest that there might be 'some malice' behind Singapore's statement to the UN committee; that there were other 'issues related to environmental degradation that also need to be addressed - such as the export of hazardous waste, illegal logging and sand-mining'; and that Singapore should 'cease to give protection, safety and sanctuary for corruptors and their ill-gotten wealth'.
All this merely for suggesting that the haze is a staggering problem, that Indonesia and Asean cannot cope with it themselves, and that international assistance is urgently needed?
When Indonesia was struck by a tsunami in December 2004, the world responded generously, and Indonesia had no difficulty accepting the aid. It was obvious the disaster occurred through no fault of any Indonesian, and that its 'scale and severity' were such that the country's recovery depended on international assistance.
The haze is a man-made catastrophe, for which many Indonesians can be blamed. Though its 'scale and severity' are such that Jakarta cannot solve the problem without international help, some Indonesian officials find it difficult to accept that fact.
Unlike in the case of a natural disaster, asking for and accepting help for a man-made disaster seems to them to underline their culpability. This is an unproductive attitude.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself has acknowledged Indonesia's responsibility and has apologised to the country's neighbours for the haze.
Because of his intervention, regional environmental ministers have met to discuss the problem, plans have been drawn up for Asean countries to work directly with Indonesian districts where the fires occur, funds have been allocated for cloud-seeding and firefighting operations, and two Russian firefighting planes have been leased.
All these are positive steps, but more needs to be done. That 90 per cent of this year's fires have been put out is due more to the rains than to Jakarta's belated interventions.
Experts warn that next year's haze could be as bad as, or worse than, 1997-98's because of El Nino. To avoid that possibility, Jakarta should treat its annual forest fires as man-made tsunamis and allow the international community to help Indonesia help itself.
janadas@sph.com.sgGLOBAL ACTION NEEDED
'The haze problem can be permanently resolved only if there is effective and sustained action on Indonesia's part. Indonesia will need help. Singapore, like other affected countries, is prepared to assist within our capabilities. Indeed Singapore and other affected Asean countries have already offered help and are now looking into what more we can do. But the scale and severity of the problem means that Asean will require international assistance, including from the UN... Annual forest fires on this scale have global and not just regional consequences. They require global action. But Indonesians themselves must muster the political will to take the crucial first steps and wholeheartedly support President Yudhoyono in his efforts to address this problem.'
SINGAPORE DIPLOMAT KEVIN CHEOK, speaking at the United Nations on Oct 25
NO SUBSTANTIVE COOPERATION
'My government remains open to any initiative that will maximise Asean cooperation, especially on vitally important aspects of this problem. Unfortunately, no substantive cooperation has been realised at this juncture. Hence, we find it difficult to understand the motives of Singapore in making that disparaging statement, unless there is some malice behind it.'
INDONESIAN DIPLOMAT ADIYATWIDI ADIWOSO ASMADY responding to Singapore at the UN
