Haze back after false lull

PETALING JAYA: The haze is back in the Klang Valley, Putrajaya, Pahang and Johor, and is expected to spread further inland over the next few days, said the Meteorological Department.

Its central forecasting office director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said visibility in the Klang Valley had “reduced markedly” in a day, with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang recording visibility of up to 2.5km yesterday afternoon.

“While this later improved, some areas in Petaling Jaya and Subang still had reduced visibility of up to 3km and 4km respectively,” he told The Star.

As of 5pm yesterday, the Department of Environment’s Air Pollutant Index recorded four areas with unhealthy air quality – Bukit Rambai in Malacca (119), Banting in Selangor (110), Muar in Johor (103) and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur (110).

Readings for Malacca city, Nilai and Port Klang hovered dangerously close to the unhealthy mark at 99, 96 and 94 respectively.

No readings were available for Putrajaya, which the DOE attributed to a technical error at the station.

The return of the haze comes just days after Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said his country hoped to ratify the 2002 Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution early next year after last week’s meeting with four of his Asean counterparts.

The treaty aims to stop transboundary haze by requiring parties to prevent burning, monitor prevention efforts, exchange information and provide mutual help.

At the meeting, the ministers had commended Indonesia for its ability to put out the land and forest fires, resulting in a drastic drop in fires.

Its effort had included waterbombing raging fires on plantations in Riau and cloud seeding.

Last month, air quality levels turned hazardous in some parts of peninsular Malaysia as well as Singapore, resulting in the closure of schools and a spike in respiratory illnesses.

Muhammad Helmi said the haze was spreading at a slow rate with the light wind pattern, which was expected to remain steady throughout the week.

He said the haze had also reached parts of Pahang and Johor, and would move northwards to Perak and Penang.

“The main reason for the spread

has been the jump in the number of hotspots in Sumatra,” he said, adding that drier weather conditions in the region would contribute to an increase in Indonesian forest fires.

Asean okays system to monitor haze

18 July 2013

MAP-SHARING: It will detect those responsible for causing forest fires

KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN environment ministers have recommended the adoption of a joint haze-monitoring system (HMS) to  weed out those responsible for haze-causing forest fires.

  The system, developed by Singapore, relies on satellite images of hot spots and may be used in tandem with official land-use and concession maps to pinpoint  owners of the land on which the fires occur.

  Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said Indonesia and Malaysia had agreed to share the maps only on a government-to-government basis.

  “We are prepared to share the maps on all fire-prone areas and peatlands but they cannot be disclosed to the public,” he said during a joint press conference after the 15th meeting of the Asean sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution yesterday.

  The meeting was held after two days of discussions between environment taskforce officials from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia on short- and long-term solutions against recurrent haze.

  The talks, originally scheduled next month, had been brought forward after haze from forest fires in Sumatra and Riau engulfed parts
of Malaysia and Singapore recently.

  Singaporean Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said  HMS was expected to be formally launched at an Asean leaders’ summit in October.

  He voiced his disappointment that the concession map data could not be made publicly available but acknowledged that progress was being made towards bringing those responsible for forest fires to justice.

  “The talks did not go as far as I’d like but they are still a step forward.

  “The companies will know that the data is being shared and that action can be taken against them
 at the local level (if they cause fires).”

  Indonesian Environment Minister Dr Balthasar Kambuaya said the country’s strict regulations about public information and transparency made it difficult for the concession maps to be made available to the  public.

  Instead, the maps will be made available on a case-to-case basis upon request.

  On another matter, the ministers commended Indonesia’s commitment to speed up the ratification of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, planned for early next year.

 In response, Balthasar said the documents for ratification were  pending review at Parliament and were expected to be passed by the end of the year.

 He said the Indonesian government welcomed the offers for bilateral collaboration projects from Malaysia and Singapore and was identifying the areas of cooperation.

 The ministers  noted  efforts taken by Indonesia to mitigate the occurrence of fires in its peat lands and fire-prone areas, expressing their appreciation for the  implementation of Indonesia’s plan of action in dealing with transboundary haze pollution.

Steps to counter haze get thumbs up

 July 12, 2013

NEW satellite feeds that the go­­vernment will soon tap, combined with ground instruments, can help Singapore to better predict haze, said experts.

But this may take years and may require Indonesia’s co-operation. In the short term, the authorities should consider installing more advanced sensors here and modify the air pollution index to better monitor and reflect the haze’s health impact.

Scientists gave these assessments when they were asked how Singapore could better prepare for the haze.

Last month, raging fires in Indonesia led to the worst haze in Singapore’s history.

On Monday, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore would tap new satellite feeds by 2015 to provide early haze alerts, but scientists said this could be easier said than done.

Satellites look at the ground in different ways, and cross different places at different times, said Assistant Professor Jason Cohen from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He specialises in climate change computer models and is researching the haze.

For example, the Modis satellite passes over the region several times a day and can “see” several thousand kilometres at once, but its cameras’ observations can be blocked by clouds. It may also mistake thick smoke for a cloud.

The Calipso satellite shines a laser beam that can cut through most clouds to pick up images. The thicker the smoke, the more energy is removed from the beam returned to the satellite.

But the beam’s thinness means its horizontal visual range is at most 1km, and the satellite passes over the region more slowly.

Both satellites are operated by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). The National Environment Agency (NEA) uses data from several satellites, inclu­ding Modis ones and Nanyang Tech­­no­logical University’s X-Sat satellite.

“If you want to integrate information from different satellites to come up with a prediction, you must have a computer program that can cover different scales in space and time, and different physical and chemistry data collected by the satellites. It’s very challenging,” said Dr Cohen.

Dr Santo Salinas, a senior research scientist at the NUS Centre for Re­­mote Imaging, Sensing and Pro­cessing, said having data from more ground instruments in the region would help scientists track how pollutants spread. This will lead to better forecasting systems. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Meeting to clear air over Malaysian firms and open burning

Wednesday July 3, 2013 MYT 6:39:26 AM

KUALA LUMPUR: A meeting will be held with representatives of Malay­sian companies involved with plantation activities in Sumatra, Indonesia, to clear the air over alleged open burning blamed for the haze affecting Malaysia and Singapore.

Natural Resources and Environ­ment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said it would be held in Kuala Lumpur on July 9 and would in-clude Plantation Industries and Com­mo­dities Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas.

“We will be holding talks to determine the extent of their activities in Sumatra and how to deal with the problem of open burning,” Palanivel told reporters after presenting the Forestry Department’s Forester Monitoring Certificates to 74 forest rangers here. He said the companies had denied their involvement in open burning as they had adopted a zero burning policy.

Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya had said eight Malaysian companies, including Sime Darby, were being investigated for open burning activities.

Sime Darby backed up its denial with satellite imagery of its plantations in Sumatra.

On a related issue, Palanivel said Asean environment ministers would hold a three-day talk on how to deal with the annual haze woes affecting the region.

He said ministers would press Indonesia to ratify a 2002 joint agreement to ensure compliance with measures to deal with open-burning and the haze.

On a separate issue, Palanivel said efforts to protect 4.7 million hectares of permanent forest reserve and wildlife in peninsular Malaysia were hampered by the lack of Forestry Department rangers.

“The department has only 200 of them and it is impossible for them to monitor such a large area against illegal logging and wildlife poachers,” he said.

He said that talks were underway with the Public Services Department to double the department’s enforcement manpower.

“However, such a move requires the cooperation of the respective state governments as the rangers’ salaries are borne by the state.”

Palanivel said there were also plans to increase the forest reserve area by a million hectares.

On wildlife conservation, Palanivel said the ministry was also considering a proposal under the National Tiger Plan to create tiger parks or sanctuaries, such as in India, to better monitor and protect the endangered animal.

ASEAN urges Indonesia to ratify haze pact

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: Southeast Asian nations urged Indonesia on Sunday to quickly ratify a treaty aimed at preventing fires in its giant rainforests that regularly inflict choking smog on its neighbours.

Thick grey smoke from the fires on Sumatra island sent air pollution to  record levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia this month, forcing people  to wear face masks and schools to close.

 

The crisis prompted the two nations to raise the problem at the annual  Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meeting in Brunei on  Sunday.

 

Indonesia is the largest member of the 10-nation bloc.

 

“We... stressed the importance for regional countries to uphold their  international obligations and work together to tackle the trans-boundary haze  pollution problem,” the foreign ministers said in a joint communique.

 

They “called upon ASEAN member states that have not yet ratified and  operationalised the (treaty) to do so expeditiously”.    

 

Indonesia is the only member which has still not ratified an ASEAN  Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution brokered in 2002.

 

The treaty aims to stop cross-border smog pollution caused by forest fires  by requiring parties to prevent burning, monitor prevention efforts, exchange  information on the problem and provide mutual help.

 

It also binds signatories to “respond promptly” to requests for information  sought by another country affected by the smoke and to take steps to implement  their obligations under the treaty.

 

Indonesia, a freewheeling democracy since the fall of strongman Suharto in  1998, has blamed its parliament for the long delay.

 

The government had sought legislators’ approval to ratify the haze  agreement but the proposal was rejected in 2008.

 

Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the treaty had been  resubmitted to the current legislature, although no timeline for ratification  was given.

 

Environmental group Greenpeace International, however, said Indonesia was  reluctant to ratify the treaty because it would affect the expansion plans of  palm oil companies in the country.

 

The Sumatra fires have been largely blamed on palm oil firms using the  illegal but cheap method of burning vast tracts of rainforests and peat lands  to clear them for planting.

 

Indonesia is the world’s top producer of palm oil, which is used for many  everyday items such as soap and biscuits.

 

Some of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests cover vast areas of Sumatra  and other parts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago.

 

But environmental campaigners warn these forests are being cleared at a  disastrous rate to make way for palm oil plantations, as well as for mining and  logging. 

 

Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam voiced satisfaction at progress on  the haze issue at the talks.

 

The ASEAN statement “focuses on the importance of putting out the fires, it  focuses on the importance of monitoring, verifying to prevent recurrence in the  future”, he told reporters.

 

“It gives a framework for us to move ahead.”    

 

However Greenpeace’s chief Indonesia forest campaigner, Bustar Maital, said  ASEAN must widen its focus to prevent the rapid rate of deforestation in  Indonesia and across the region, rather than simply focus on the fires.

 

“Deforestation is the main driver of the forest fires,” he told AFP.

No need for Malaysia or Singapore’s help on haze, says Indonesia minister

JUNE 29, 2013

The man in charge of fighting the deadly haze from Indonesia said yesterday that the country has enough money and equipment to manage the fires themselves. 

They do not any help from Malaysia or Singapore, he said. “We welcome any cooperation and offers of support but we are capable of handling the fires ourselves,” Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono told The Jakarta Post and other reporters after a key meeting with other ministers. 

The Indonesian government yesterday put up RP100 billion to fight the fires in Riau that have caused choking haze over Riau and its neighbours Malaysia and Singapore. 

Two people died in Johor last Monday of haze-related breathing difficulties. Laksono said the money would pay for renting water-bombing equipment from South Korea and Russia. 

So far 14 people have been arrested in the past week for starting the fires. “The number of suspects could still increase depending on our investigation,” a key member of the Riau Haze Task Force, Sr. Comr. Agus Sofyan Abadi Agus told the Indonesian daily. 

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan Zulkifli said in Jakarta about those held for arson: “Among the 14, 11 burned areas are covered by forest concessions and oil palm plantations. We still must prove whether the suspects are affiliated with the companies.” He would name the companies that many believe had paid arsonists to start fires. 

But Agus said the suspects were local residents and were mostly paid by other people to burn bushes to expand farmland