Reme Ahmad in Singapore talks to
Salim Osman in Jakarta
RA: People in Singapore and neighbouring countries don't seem to see a sense of urgency among officials in indonesia over the issue? Is that your feel too?
SO: I dont think it's fair to say that there is no sense of urgency among officials in Indonesia over the issue. They are sometimes hamstrung by bureaucratic red tape as forest fires come under the purview of many departments - Forestry, Environment and their counterparts in the regional government
The local fire fighting teams would be the first to be mobilised to fight the fires. Most of the time they can't do much because the area is not easily accessible and they are short of resources.
The government has started a programme to get farmers clear the land by other method instead of the slash-and-burn that they have known for generation. Of course, it will take time to change their habit. But officials on the ground have been working to provide them with incentives so that they dont slash and burn in clearing the land. These efforts take time and money.
RA: NGOs and governments, like Singapore, are reaching out to indonesia to try and resolve this issue in other ways than just signing a treaty. I read recently about an NGO working with local communities in Sumatra. Are these efforts sufficient?
SO: What Singapore and some NGOs are doing is commendable in addressing the haze problem. The international community should work with the locals,mainly farmers and workers of big plantation companies, to show them that they can avoid using the slash-and-burn method of clearing land.
This would need a lot of money and the regional governments are usually strapped for cash. The farmers can be offered other ways of earning a living instead of cultivating land such as in becoming fishermen. All these take time to bear results. in the meantime, sorry to say, Singaporeans and Malaysians will have to put up with the annual smog.
RA: The people in Sumatra and Kalimantan themselves who suffer from the choking smog every year, for weeks on end. Don't they pressure their local leaders, authorities and central government to do anything?
SO: People there don't like the dry season themselves because it means choking smoke shrouding their environment. They do complain to their regional leaders and authorities. But again, bureaucratic red tape usually comes in the way because the fires are caused by their own neighbours sometimes and plantation workers whom they have no control.
for the authorities, they always act by trying to put out the fire. If these fires are in peat land, it would take time to really put out the fire which usually smoulder underground for weeks. The local residents dont dislike the haze as much as Singaporeans. But what else can they do?
These people are a resilient lot. They just carry on.