Singapore turns to its own palm oil and forestry firms in Indonesia as South-east Asian haze probe grows

Singapore has expanded its investigation into companies linked to the fires in Indonesia, which have caused widespread toxic haze affecting regional air quality.

The city-state has requested information from 10 Singapore-based firms in the palm oil or forestry industry about their associations with Indonesian operations and efforts to manage the fires.

Singapore's National Environmental Agency (NEA) is collaborating with experts to conduct cross-border investigations and has issued notices to 10 foreign firms to take fire management actions.

The fires, exacerbated by a strong El Nino, have resulted in severe deforestation, prompting accusations of corporate responsibility for the blazes.

SINGAPORE, Oct 24 — Singapore expanded on Friday its probe into companies linked to fires in Indonesia, asking 10 locally-based firms for information about their efforts to contain blazes blamed for toxic haze covering the region.

The city-state has beefed up measures to combat the months-long blazes and had vowed legal action against companies responsible for the fires that have made regional air quality among the world’s worst.

Over the past week, Singapore issued notices to 10 foreign-based companies, insisting that they deploy fire fighting teams, stop burning or starting new fires in Indonesia and submit information about their links with associated companies in Indonesia and Singapore.

The information is to be reviewed by Singapore’s National Environmental Agency (NEA).

In addition to these companies, the NEA is seeking information from 10 Singapore-registered firms in the palm oil or forestry industry who are involved with Indonesian land, the environmental agency said in a statement late Friday.

The information relates to “linkages with associated companies in Singapore and Indonesia, the location of land concessions owned by them as well as fire preventative measures or firefighting efforts”, the statement said.

Singapore also said it would form a panel of experts comprising law firms, audit firms and investigative firms with expertise in conducting cross-border inquiries and investigations to help with its probe.

Indonesia experiences fires regularly during its dry season, and experts say years of deforestation and the draining of peatland for cultivation have rendered previously fire-resistant landscapes vulnerable.

Driven by a strong El Nino cycle and resulting drought, this year’s blazes have been particularly severe, burning through nearly two million hectares, according to deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas.

The fires have raged across forests and peatland, as well as palm oil and timber plantations supplying multinational firms.

Civil society groups have regularly accused companies of responsibility for the blazes, pointing to so-called “hotspots” in supplier plantations, sometimes called concessions.

Several companies implicated have insisted they are not behind the fires, including Singapore Exchange-listed First Resources and Singapore-registered Asia Pulp and Paper. Both are named by the NEA in the latest update on Singapore’s probe.

Kuala Lumpur and Singapore again ranked within the world’s top 10 most polluted major cities late Friday, according to Swiss-based air monitor IQAir. — AFP

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新加坡扩大了对与印尼火灾有关的公司的调查范围，这些火灾造成了大范围的有毒烟雾，影响了区域空气质量。

该城邦已要求 10 家总部位于新加坡的棕榈油或林业公司提供有关其与印尼业务关联以及为控制火灾所做的努力的信息。

新加坡国家环境局 (NEA) 正与专家合作进行跨境调查，并已向 10 家外国公司发出通知，要求其采取消防管理措施。

受强厄尔尼诺现象影响，火灾愈演愈烈，导致森林严重砍伐，引发了人们对企业应对火灾负责的指责。

新加坡，10 月 24 日——新加坡周五扩大了对与印尼火灾有关的公司的调查范围，要求 10 家本地公司提供有关其为控制造成该地区有毒烟雾的火灾所做的努力的信息。

这个城邦国家已经加强了应对持续数月的火灾的措施，并誓言要对造成火灾的公司采取法律行动，这些火灾已使该地区的空气质量成为世界上最差的之一。

过去一周，新加坡向 10 家外国公司发出通知，要求它们部署消防队，停止在印度尼西亚纵火或引发新的火灾，并提交有关其与印度尼西亚和新加坡关联公司之间联系的信息。

该信息将由新加坡国家环境局（NEA）进行审核。

除了这些公司之外，新加坡国家环境局（NEA）还在周五晚间发表声明称，该机构正在向10家在新加坡注册的棕榈油或林业公司征求信息，这些公司与印尼的土地有关联。

声明称，这些信息涉及“与新加坡和印度尼西亚的关联公司的联系、他们拥有的土地特许权的所在地以及防火措施或消防工作”。

新加坡还表示，将成立一个专家小组，成员包括律师事务所、审计公司和调查公司，这些机构在进行跨境调查方面具有专业知识，以协助其进行调查。

印度尼西亚在旱季经常发生火灾，专家表示，多年来的森林砍伐和泥炭地排水耕作使得原本耐火的景观变得脆弱。

据森林砍伐监测机构努桑塔拉阿特拉斯（Nusantara Atlas）称，受强烈的厄尔尼诺现象和由此导致的干旱影响，今年的火灾尤为严重，烧毁了近200万公顷的森林。

大火肆虐森林、泥炭地，以及为跨国公司供应棕榈油和木材的种植园。

民间团体经常指责企业应对火灾负责，并指出供应商种植园（有时称为特许经营地）中所谓的“热点”地区。

包括新加坡交易所上市的第一资源公司和新加坡注册的亚洲浆纸业公司在内的多家涉案公司坚称与纵火案无关。新加坡国家环境局在最新发布的调查报告中点名了这两家公司。

根据总部位于瑞士的空气质量监测机构IQAir周五晚间发布的数据，吉隆坡和新加坡再次跻身全球十大污染最严重城市之列。——法新社

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