Singapore Submits Haze Masterplan to Indonesia
Singapore Submits Haze Masterplan toIndonesia
15 June 2007
published by www.xinhuanet.com
Singapore — Singapore has submitted a masterplan to Indonesia on how tofight the haze problem, Minister for Environment and Water Resources YaacobIbrahim said on Thursday. The minister said he would be in Indonesia next weekto attend the third Ministerial Committee meeting on haze and he hoped that theIndonesian authorities would implement the masterplan soon, local televisionChannel NewsAsia reported.
The masterplan includes various initiatives to help solve the haze problem, suchas helping the Jambi province to tackle and prevent forest fires.
Yaacob also said he would persuade Indonesia to deliver on its proposedinitiatives.
“For example in their plan which they announced this year that they willtry to cut back some 50 percent of the haze sites this year. So I hope they cankeep to their promise,” said Yaacob, adding that “I will impress uponthe other ministers to work with our Indonesia colleagues to make sure that themasterplan gets implemented and hopefully they can do their part to deliver whatthey have promised.”
Burning in Indonesia by farmers and agricultural companies to seek inexpensiveway to clear brush land for palm oil causes an annual smoke that effectsneighboring Singapore.
