Yahoo – AFP,
26 Sep 2015
The
Fullerton Hotel is blanketed in thick haze, in Singapore, on September 24,
2015
(AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)
|
Singapore
(AFP) - Singapore has launched legal action that could lead to massive fines
against Indonesian companies blamed for farm and plantation fires spewing
unhealthy levels of air pollution over the city-state.
Five
Indonesian companies including multinational Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) have
been served with legal notices, according to a Singapore government statement
issued late Friday.
The move
followed a bitter diplomatic spat over Indonesia's failure to stop a severe
outbreak of smoky haze which has also affected Malaysia and persisted for
years.
APP, part
of Indonesia's Sinar Mas conglomerate, is one of the world's largest pulp and
paper groups and publicly upholds "sustainability" and forest conservation
as core principles. Its products include stationery and toilet paper.
APP was
asked by Singapore's National Environment Agency to supply information on its
subsidiaries operating in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by
its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires in their concessions.
The group,
which has paper mills in Indonesia and China, did not immediately reply when
asked by AFP for comment.
Under a
2014 law called the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, Singapore can impose a
fine of Sg$100,000 ($70,000) for each day that a local or foreign company
contributes to unhealthy levels of haze pollution in Singapore, subject to a
maximum total of Sg$2.0 million.
Singapore
is located near Indonesia's vast Sumatra island, where fires have traditionally
been set off by farmers and plantations to clear land for cultivation.
Four other
Indonesian companies -- Rimba Hutani Mas, Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood
Industries, Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa and Wachyuni Mandira -- have been told to
take measures to extinguish fires on their land, refrain from starting new
ones, and submit action plans to prevent future fires.
Sinar Mas
is also involved in palm oil production, an industry widely blamed for forest
fires in Indonesia.
In its
statement issued Friday, the Singapore government said it was "examining
how to apply more economic pressure against errant companies," including a
review of its own procurement policies.
A soldier
inspects a peatland forest on fire in Kampar district, Riau province,
on Indonesia's Sumatra island, on August 7, 2015 (AFP Photo/Alfachrozie) |
Singapore's
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the
haze problem has lasted "for far too long".
"This
is not a natural disaster. Haze is a man-made problem that should not be
tolerated. It has caused major impact on the health, society and economy of our
region," he said in the statement.
Singapore
declared emergency shutdowns of elementary and high schools on Friday after the
air pollutant index hit "hazardous" levels.
It eased to
"moderate" levels on Saturday but a shift in wind direction can
quickly change the situation.
The current
haze outbreak is the worst since mid-2013. The recurring crisis grips Southeast
Asia nearly every year during the dry season.
Singapore
officials have reacted with outrage to Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla's
comments that Indonesia's neighbours should be grateful for good air quality
most of the year, and that Jakarta need not apologise for the crisis.
Indonesia
has previously said that Singapore-based companies were among those responsible
for the blazes.
About 3,000
troops and police have been sent to Sumatra to fight the fires, with Indonesian
authorities saying last week that it would take a month to bring them under
control.
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