07 Jun 2016
Every year since 2005, Singapore has offered assistance packages to support Indonesia in its fire mitigation efforts. This is part of the Singapore Government’s broader commitment to assist the Indonesian Government in its efforts to deal with the land and forest fires in the run-up to the traditional dry season from June to October.
2 The assistance package offered by Singapore this year comprises:
i. Up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry a fire-fighting assistance team from Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF);
ii. A team from SCDF to provide fire-fighting assessment and planning assistance to our Indonesian counterparts;
iii. One C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations; and
iv. High-resolution satellite pictures of fires and the coordinates of the fire sites.
3 Transboundary haze from land and forest fires has been a perennial problem in the southern ASEAN region for decades. Illegal and unsustainable land clearing methods, in particular ‘slash and burn’ agricultural practices by irresponsible companies, have been identified as the root cause of fires that result in transboundary haze pollution. The haze episode in 2015 was one of the worst and most prolonged in history, and had a major impact on the health and livelihoods of the people in Indonesia and many countries in the region.
4 The Singapore Government remains committed to working with the Indonesian Government and other like-minded partners to find more permanent solutions to this regional problem.
Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources
7 June 2016