Singapore has launched legal action that could lead to massive fines against Indonesian companies blamed for farm and plantation fires spreading 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 Singaporean government statement issued on 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. APP was asked by the Singaporean 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 for comment.
Under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act passed last year, Singapore can impose a fine of S$100,000 (US$70,052) for each day that a local or foreign company contributes to unhealthy levels of haze pollution in Singapore, subject to a maximum total of S$2 million.
Singapore is located near Indonesia’s Sumatra island, where fires have traditionally been set off 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 on Friday, the Singaporean government said it was “examining how to apply more economic pressure against errant companies,” including a review of its own procurement policies.
Singaporean 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.
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