Untitled - ASEAN Haze Action Online

Table Of Contents
Background
Indonesia’s Plan Of Action
3
4
Jambi Master Plan
5
Action Programmes
9
Experience and Lessons Learnt
18
Conclusion
20
Annex A:
Timeline of Activities by the Singapore Project Team
Annex B:
Speeches at Handover Ceremony of the Air and
Weather Monitoring Stations on 24 July 2009 in
Jambi Province
State Minister of Environment (Indonesia)
H.E. Rachmat Witoelar Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
(Singapore) Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim
Governor of Jambi H.E. Zulkifli Nurdin
Muaro Jambi Regent H.E. Burhanuddin Mahir
Acknowledgements
Background
Transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires during the dry period between
June and October has been a regular feature in the southern South-East Asia region
in the past few decades. These annual fires are caused mainly by land clearing
and “slash and burn” agricultural practices in Sumatra and Borneo. The smoke
haze situation is usually exacerbated when it coincides with the El Niño, a climatic
phenomenon that often leads to extended drier weather conditions in the region.
In 1997-98, about 10 million hectares of Indonesia’s forests, one of the world’s
centres of biodiversity, were destroyed in fires started mostly in oil palm plantations
and agricultural and forestry holdings on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. More
than 20 million people were exposed to breathing high levels of pollutants known to
cause both acute and long-term health effects.Several airports in the region had to
be shut down due to poor visibility. Total economic losses across the region were
estimated at around US$9 billion.
Regional Haze Map showing
the smoke haze in 2006
03
Indonesia’s Plan of Action
Following the last major smoke haze episode in 2006 which had affected Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and southern part of Thailand quite badly, the five
ASEAN countries have taken action to tackle the transboundary smoke haze issue
by setting up Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze
Pollution (MSC).
Notwithstanding this, the regional smoke haze problem continues to persist. One
possible reason could be the need to tackle the land and forest fires in Sumatra and
Borneo have not cascaded down to the community at the provincial and district
levels.
Recognizing this, Indonesia formulated specific action plans to prevent and mitigate
fires at the provincial and district levels under its National Plan of Action (PoA).
Indonesia identified 35 fire-prone districts in 8 provinces for attention. Indonesia’s
PoA invited ASEAN member countries to collaborate with a fire-prone province or
district in Indonesia to enhance its capacity to tackle land and forest fires there.
Indonesia’s Plan of Action
04
Commencement Date
9 November 2006
Budget Allocated
750 billion Rupiah
Target
Hotspots reduction to 50% of 2006’s levels
Provinces Identified
1. Central Kalimantan
2. East Kalimantan
3. Jambi
4. Riau
5. South Kalimantan
6. South Sumatra
7. West Kalimantan
8. West Sumatra
Jambi Master Plan
In response, Singapore offered to collaborate with Jambi Province and Indonesia’s
State Ministry of Environment [Kementerian Negara Lingkungan Hidup (KLH)] to
develop a Master Plan to deal with land and forest fires in Jambi Province. Jambi
Province is located in Southern Sumatra and has a population of 2.7 million with a
land area of 5.3 million hectares.
Singapore sent a team of officers to Jambi for a fact-finding mission in January 2007
to understand and assess the ground conditions, legislation and enforcement regime
of the existing fire prevention and mitigation capabilities and programmes in Jambi.
Jambi officials briefed the Singapore Project Team
on the institutional set up, availability of resources,
etc, in Jambi to deal with land and forest fires. Jambi
Governor, Bapak Zulkifli Nurdin also met with the
Singapore Team to express his commitment to the
collaboration between
Jambi and Singapore.
05
Following the fact-finding mission, the Singapore Project Team prepared the
Framework of the Master Plan, which was then sent to Jambi and Jakarta, for
comments and inputs.
Officials from Jambi and KLH were also invited to Singapore to work on the
Framework of the Master Plan. The framework was finalized with the signing of the
Letter of Intent (LOI) between KLH and MEWR (Ministry of the Environment and
Water Resources) in November 2007 to formalize the development of the Master
Plan and the implementation of agreed activities to deal with land and forest fires in
Muaro Jambi Regency for a period of two years.
Signing ceremony of the Letter Of Intent (LOI) on the development and
implementation of the agreed activities to deal with land and forest fires in
Muaro Jambi Regency
06
The Jambi Provincial Government selected Muaro Jambi Regency based on the
following considerations:
• The Regency is fire-prone
• The proximity of the Regency to Kota Jambi (many residents in Kota Jambi were
affected by the smoke haze caused by the land and forest fires in 2006.)
• The Regency has many archaeological sites of great historical importance that
warranted protection from fires
Muaro Jambi Regency is one of nine regencies in Jambi province. The Master Plan
sets out the strategy and approach for land clearing without the use of fire, as well as
the prevention and mitigation of peatland fires in Muaro Jambi Regency. It outlines a
model for sustainable “land clearing” practices. The key focus of the Master Plan is
on Fire Prevention. The Master Plan belongs to Jambi and is implemented by Jambi
authorities.
Jambi Province highlighted in green
Under the Master Plan, Singapore provided technical assistance to Jambi in the
implementation of some specific programmes.
If successfully implemented, the Jambi Master Plan can serve as a model for other
fire-prone regencies/districts in Indonesia.
07
Summary of Master Plan
It is under the ownership of the Indonesian Government.
Jambi and KLH are responsible for the development and implementation of the
Action Programmes under the Master Plan.
Singapore and other stakeholders, including ASEAN Member Countries,
international and regional organizations, will assist Jambi and KLH in the
implementation of the programmes under the Master Plan, if requested by
Indonesia.
Singapore offers funding, technical expertise and assistance to implement some
specific action programmes under the Master Plan.
08
Action Programmes
For a period of 2 years, Jambi provincial officials worked closely with Singapore’s
project team to ensure the successful implementation of the Action Programmes
(AP) under the Master Plan. In terms of financial support, Singapore set aside a sum
of S$1 million to implement seven selected Action Programmes under its technical
assistance to Indonesia.
The seven selected Action Programmes are as follows:
1. Workshop to develop the capacity of the Jambi officers in reading and interpretation
of satellite imagery and hotspot Information
2. Socialization workshop on sustainable farming and zero-burning practices
3. Development of land-use map for Muaro Jambi Regency
4. Installation of a Geographical Information System (GIS) to support regional fire and
haze monitoring and assessment
5. Setting up air and weather monitoring stations and development of a Fire Danger
Rating System (FDRS)
6. Review of the fire prevention and suppression capability and capacity of plantation
companies and relevant stakeholders in Muaro Jambi Regency
7. Training workshop on fire prevention and suppression capabilities
Jambi and Singapore have successfully completed all the seven programmes
identified under the ambit of the Indonesia-Singapore collaboration. In the meantime,
Singapore has also developed 2 new additional action programmes, viz “Peatland
management knowledge base and training programme” with Singapore-Delft
Water Alliance (SDWA) and “Enhancement of aquaculture expertise in Jambi” with
Singapore Food Industries (SFI).
09
(1) Workshop to Develop the Capacity of the Jambi Officers in Reading and
Interpretation of Satellite Imagery and Hotspot Information
Objective: To train the Indonesian officials in the area of satellite imagery
interpretation.
Details: Under this Action Programme, a workshop was organised for officials
dealing with environment, forestry and land management issues. The workshop
covered the principles of satellite remote sensing, understanding of the basis for
hotspot and smoke haze detection using satellites, interpretation of satellite images
and basic knowledge of ambient air quality monitoring.
Two runs of the workshop were conducted in Singapore in January 2008 and March
2008, by officers from Meteorological Services of Singapore and the Pollution Control
Department of the National Environment Agency (NEA).
Outcome: Officials from Jambi provincial government and KLH who attended the
workshops became proficient in satellite imagery interpretation and subsequently
acted as trainers for their respective officers in their provinces and organisations.
Participants attending
the satellite imagery
interpretation workshop
10
(2) Socialization Workshop on Sustainable Farming and Zero-Burning
Practices
Objective: To increase the knowledge and capability of participants in preventing
and managing fires in the land and forests.
Details: Jambi provincial government and NEA jointly organized the workshop with
support from PT Wira Karya Sakti, a pulp plantation company. Held in April 2008
in Jambi, the workshop was attended by participants comprising village chiefs,
community leaders, government officials and non-governmental organizations.
International experts on peatland management and forest fire suppression such as
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA) and Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd
(APRIL) also shared their experiences at the workshop. Hands-on training were
conducted at PT Wirkarya Sakti’s Community Development Centre.
Outcome: Besides increasing the knowledge and capability of participants in
preventing and managing fires in the land and forests, the workshop also raised the
awareness among local community on fire prevention & suppression, sustainable
farming practices and zero-burning land clearance methods.
Programme Partners:
Asia Pacific Resources
International Ltd (APRIL)
PT Wira Karya Sakti
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance
(SDWA)
Participants attending
the Workshop
” From the workshop, we learn about sustainable
farming…identify obstacles and ways of
overcoming them. “ - Pak Roslan from ArangArang Village
11
(3) Development of Land-Use Map for Muaro Jambi Regency
Objective: To develop an up-to-date land use map for Jambi officials to identify and
monitor areas affected by forest/plantation fires and which they can use for their fire
prevention planning.
Details: The map was developed by Singapore’s Centre for Remote Imaging,
Sensing and Processing (CRISP), in close consultation with officials from Muaro Jambi
Regency Planning Board. Satellite imagery data was utilized to conduct a general
land analysis of the Muaro Jambi region to map out forested areas, grasslands,
plantations etc.
Outcome: The up-to-date land use map has enabled the Jambi officials to identify
and monitor areas that are affected by forest/plantation fires. In addition, the map is
useful to the Jambi government in their land resource planning to meet the challenges
faced by the Regency, especially in the area of deforestation.
Discussion on
the land use map
“The land use map will be useful in our land
resource planning. It also helps identify areas
that are affected by land and forest fires.” - Pak
Dasra, Muaro Jambi Regency
Programme Partner:
Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing
and Processing (CRISP)
12
(4) Installation of a Geographical Information System (GIS) to Support
Regional Fire and Haze Monitoring and Assessment
Objective: To develop a system to support regional fire and haze monitoring, and
generate information on hotspot activities in Muaro Jambi Regency.
Details: GIS can be used to manage, analyze and display geographically referenced
information, such as hotspot information generated from satellite data. It could
also be used to generate useful monitoring information, which can be used by the
Indonesian officials to identify areas affected by land and forest fires. Such information
is useful in the assessment of the regional fire and smoke haze situation.
Outcome: GIS was implemented since July 2008 to generate accurate information
on areas affected by land and forest fires from satellite data.
GIS application enables zooming into the regency
from the regional image of Sumatra
13
(5) Setting up Air and Weather Monitoring Stations and Development of a
Fire Danger Rating System
Objective: To install monitoring stations to measure the level of particulate matter
(PM10) in ambient air, wind speed and direction, temperature, relative humidity and
rainfall.
Details: Two automated air monitoring stations and two weather monitoring stations
were installed in Jambi Province. The air monitoring stations enable Jambi residents
to have access to daily Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings. These readings
are useful during periods of haze episodes, as the PSI readings would be used to
activate the issuance of health advisories and implementation of health protection
measures for the local residents.
In addition, during periods of dry weather, the data obtained from the newly installed
weather monitoring stations are used as inputs for the Fire Danger Rating System
(FDRS). The System generates a Fire Danger Rating Index (FDRI), which denotes
the risk of forest/vegetation fire occurrence. The Index is helpful in planning fire
management resources and giving early warning to prevent land and forest fires.
Outcome: The air and weather monitoring stations have been installed succesfully
and are operating well. The officers from Muaro Jambi’s environmental office have
been trained to operate and carry out simple maintenance and trouble-shooting of
the air and weather monitoring equipment.
To mark the completion of the air and
weather monitoring stations, a handover
ceremony was held on 24 July 2009 in
Jambi Province. The event was hosted
by the Governor of Jambi and graced
by the Environment Ministers from both
Indonesia and Singapore.
State Minister of Environment (Indonesia)
Bapak Rachmat Witoelar giving his
Opening Address at the Handover
Ceremony
14
Minister for the Environment & Water
Resources (Singapore) Dr Yaacob Ibrahim
giving his remarks
Air and Weather Monitoring Station
at Sengeti
Bapak Zulkifli Nurdin, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim,
Bapak Rachmat Witoelar signing the plaque at
the handover ceremony of the air and weather
monitoring stations in Jambi Province
(from right) CEO(NEA) Mr Andrew Tan, Deputy
Minister (KLH) Ibu Nelly (center) together with
officials and students at the tree planting
ceremony
Equipment used
to monitor particulate
matter (PM10)
15
(6) Review of the Fire Prevention and Suppression Capability and Capacity of
Plantation Companies and Relevant Stakeholders in Muaro Jambi Regency
Objective: To conduct a review of the fire prevention and suppression capability
and capacity of plantation companies and relevant stakeholders in Muaro Jambi
Regency.
Details: NEA had partnered Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL),
a company with pulp and paper concessions in Sumatra to carry out this action
programme. APRIL had offered the services of their fire safety and aviation manager,
Mr Brad Sanders, who has extensive ground experience and expertise on fire
prevention and suppression in Indonesia. Mr Sanders conducted the review in Jambi
in November 2008, together with a team of officers from NEA, Jambi Provincial
Government and Muaro Jambi Regency.
The Jambi and Singapore project
team members visiting a village in
Muaro Jambi Regency
Outcome: The review carried out included an assessment of existing fire-fighting
arrangements in Muaro Jambi Regency and their capabilities and effectiveness
in fire prevention and suppression. The review also identified gaps in fire-fighting
arrangement among the provincial government, concessionaires, community
plantations, Manggala Agni (fire brigade) and local village brigades in Muaro Jambi
Regency. The findings and recommendations have been shared with the Jambi
provincial government and used in a training workshop to bridge the gaps identified.
The training workshop is the 7th action programme.
Programme Partner: Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL)
16
(7) Training Workshop on Fire Fighting and Suppression Capabilities
Objective: To conduct training on fire-fighting for the villagers, Manggala Agni
(Fire Brigades) and other stakeholders such as plantation companies and District
Officials.
Outcome: The stakeholders were taught that fire prevention was the most effective
way of minimizing and managing fires. Several strategic measures were identified
and compiled into an Action Plan to be disseminated to the relevant stakeholders,
especially the Provincial and Regency Government so that there would be better
coordination between the stakeholders to suppress the land and forest fires.
Programme Partner: Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL)
Participants undergoing
fire-fighting training practices
“…this workshop allows people from the government agencies, villagers and private sector to work
together to develop sustainable fire management strategies….”- Pak Hari, participant from the local
palm oil plantation.
17
Experience and Lessons Learnt
Importance of Communication
The Singapore Project Team established contact with their Indonesian colleagues
in Jambi Province in January 2007 after Indonesia invited ASEAN countries to
collaborate with its fire-prone provinces/regencies to prevent and mitigate land
and forest fires under the Indonesia Plan of Action (PoA). Together, they worked to
understand the local ground conditions in tackling land and forest fires. The officials
from both countries also met over several months to discuss and develop the action
programmes. With the strong leadership from the Governor of Jambi, commitment by
his provincial officials, as well as support from KLH, the officials from both countries
were able to successfully complete all the 7 action programmes within two years.
During the dry season in 2008, the Jambi officials were able to utilise the tools
developed under the action programme such as hotspot information and land-used
map, to monitor the hotspots situation in Jambi and also develop fire suppression
strategies. NEA officials also provided support and worked closely with the Indonesian
officials to understand the ground situation.
Contributions of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)
Apart from the Jambi provincial government, Non-Government Organizations
(NGOs) also played an important role in the implementation of some of the projects.
For instance, Yayasan Pinang Sebatang (PINSE), an active environmental NGO in
Jambi, was involved in some of the projects such as the socialisation workshop on
sustainable farming and zero burning practices.
PINSE worked closely with the Jambi provincial government and had built up good
rapport with the Jambi community. During the socialization workshop, PINSE used
their good local contacts to garner support from the village chiefs and villagers to
participate at the workshops and also promote zero burning practices in the local
community.
18
Partnership with Experts
Experts not only bring on-board technical knowledge but also provide useful contacts
in the area of fire control and management. Through partnerships with experts such
as Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA), research and appropriate strategies were
developed to mitigate the fires in degraded peatlands. Peatland fires are a major
source of transboundary smoke haze affecting the region.
Availability of Real-Time Information on Weather and Air Quality
The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) and the Fire Danger Rating Index (FDRI) provided
useful information to provincial authorities and the local community to prevent and
mitigate land and forest fires. These data benefitted the community by providing
early warning of dry conditions and early detection of land and forest fires. The
accurate measurement of the relative severity of dry conditions also serves as an
aid to fire control programmes. In the longer term, the information obtained could be
used to assist the province in agriculture, farming, aviation, research, etc. The Jambi
provincial government through its Badan Lingkungan Hidup (Environment Office) has
taken over and is now managing the air and weather monitoring stations.
19
CONCLUSION
While the Indonesia-Singapore collaboration in Jambi province has progressed well,
we recognized that the combined efforts in Jambi represents only a small part of a
much larger challenge faced by Indonesia, as land and forest fires are not just an
environment issue in Indonesia, but also affects the economy and health issue as
well. The experiences and lessons gained through this collaboration have enabled
the local community and plantation companies in the province to be better prepared
to do their part to prevent the fires and smoke haze problems. The experiences
gained in the implementation of the Jambi Master Plan can be replicated in other
fire-prone provinces and in the long run help to bring about a haze-free ASEAN.
20
Annex A: Timeline of Activities by the Singapore Project Team
Jan 2007
• A team of MEWR and NEA officials visited Jambi
to understand the ground situation, established
contacts with key Jambi officials and worked with
these Jambi officials to scope out the key elements
of the Master Plan.
• Following the Fact-Finding Mission, the team
prepared the Framework of the Master Plan. The
Framework was sent to Jambi and Jakarta for their
views and comments.
Feb 2007
• Invited Jambi and KLH officials to Singapore to
develop the Framework with the objective to review
and finalize the Master Plan.
Apr 2007
• Call on the Jambi Governor to discuss the Jambi
Master Plan.
May 2007
• Visited Jambi with Singapore Food Industries (SFI) to
establish contacts with the Jambi Governor and his
officials, and to explore possible projects in Jambi
province.
Jul 2007
• SFI conducted feasibility study on the fishery and
pineapple industries and the infrastructure available
to support them.
• The findings were presented to the Jambi Governor.
21
Feb – Oct 2007
• Discussion with KLH on the Master Plan.
• Jambi officials presented and sought endorsement
from Jambi Governor and KLH on the Master Plan.
Nov 2007
• Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed between Indonesia
and Singapore on 7 Nov 2007 to formalize
the development of the Master Plan and the
implementation of agreed activities to deal with land
and forest fires in Jambi for a period of two years.
• Call on the Governor and presented to him the
LOI. Also discussed the implementation of the
programmes under the LOI.
• NEA officers and the Jambi provincial officials
conducted site visits to identify possible locations for
the air and weather monitoring stations.
Jan 2008
• First run of training on interpretation of satellite imagery
and hotspot information workshop conducted for
officials from Jambi provincial government and KLH.
• Senior Jambi provincial officials visited Singapore
to discuss the implementaion of other action
programmes.
Mar 2008
22
• Second run of training on interpretation of satellite
imagery and hotspot information workshop was
conducted for officials from Jambi provincial
government and KLH.
Apr 2008
• Socialization workshop on sustainable farming and
zero-burning practices was conducted to increase
the knowledge and capability of participants in
preventing and managing land and forest fires.
• Met with the Jambi provincial officials to seek
feedback on the completed programmes and also
to follow up on the outstanding action programmes.
May 2008
• Muaro Jambi officials visited CRISP to discuss the
development of the land-use map.
• Finalised land-use map for Muaro Jambi Regency
was developed and given to Indonesia.
Jul 2008
• Geographical
installed.
Information
System
(GIS)
was
• Call on the Jambi Governor to seek his concurrence
on the proposed handover ceremony of the air and
weather monitoring stations to be held in Jambi.
• Also updated the Governor on two new Action
Programmes.
• NEA technical officers and contractors assisted the
Jambi officials to prepare the site for the air and
weather monitoring stations.
23
Aug - Oct 2008
• Oversee the installation and commissioning of the air
and weather monitoring stations.
•Trained the Jambi provincial officials on the operation
and maintenance of the air and weather monitoring
stations.
Nov 2008
• Review of the fire prevention and suppression capacity
of plantation companies and relevant stakeholders in
Muaro Jambi Regency was conducted.
Dec 2008
• The air and weather monitoring stations were
commissioned.
Jan – Jun 2009
• Discussion with the Jambi and KLH officials on the
handover ceremony of the air and weather monitoring
stations.
Jul 2009
• Handover ceremony of the air and weather monitoring
stations was held on 24 July 2009 in Jambi.
Aug 2009
• Training workshop on fire prevention and suppression
capabilities was conducted.
24
Annex B: Speeches at Handover Ceremony of the Air and
Weather Monitoring Stations on 24 July 2009 in
Jambi Province
SAMBUTAN
MENTERI NEGARA LINGKUNGAN HIDUP
PADA ACARA “HANDOVER OF PM10 AND WEATHER MONITORING STATIONS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA”
Muaro Jambi, 24 July 2009
Yth. H.E. Dr. Jacob Ibrahim, Minister of Environment and Water Resources, The
Republic of Singapore,
Yth. Bpk. Zulkifli Nurdin, Gubernur Jambi,
Yth. Bpk. Burhanuddin Mahir, Bupati Muaro Jambi, dan
Seluruh Undangan yang terhormat,
Assalamualaikum warrohmatullahi wabarokatuh, salam sejahtera,
Pertama-tama saya ucapkan puji syukur kepada Allah SWT yang dengan perkenanNya acara ini dapat diselenggarakan pada hari ini. Ucapan terima kasih saya sampaikan kepada Pemerintah Provinsi Jambi yang telah memfasilitasi penyelenggaraan
acara serah terima peralatan pemantauan particulate matter kurang dari 10 mikron
(PM10) dari Pemerintah Republik Singapura kepada Pemerintah Republik Indonesia.
Selain itu, penghargaan juga saya sampaikan kepada Pemerintah Kabupaten Muaro
Jambi yang telah bersedia menjadi tempat penyelenggaraan acara.
Hadirin yang saya hormati,
Saya mengajak seluruh elemen masyarakat Jambi untuk membangun Jambi dengan mengedepankan etika dan norma yang telah dibangun dan disepakati, termasuk didalamnya berbagai aturan hukum, baik di tingkat daerah maupun nasional.
25
Tujuannya adalah untuk memastikan bahwa berbagai kegiatan atas nama pembangunan untuk Jambi khususnya tidak hanya memikirkan kepentingan dan manfaat
jangka pendek. Hal ini penting karena berbagai kegiatan pembangunan kita masih
banyak bersandarkan kepada pemanfaatan langsung sumberdaya alam, yang apabila sumberdaya tersebut sudah terkuras maka fungsi lingkungan sangat sulit untuk
dikembalikan mendekati keadaan semula atau bahkan jika dibiarkan rusak akan memerlukan biaya yang sangat besar untuk merehabilitasinya melebihi nilai pendapatan
nominal yang diperoleh.
Dalam hal pengendalian kebakaran hutan dan lahan, dengan dukungan semua pihak
dibantu iklim yang basah maka pemerintah Indonesia telah berhasil menekan jumlah
titik panas sebesar 52% pada tahun 2007 dan 49% pada tahun 2008 dibandingkan dengan jumlah titik panas pada tahun 2006. Tetapi pada tahun 2009, menurut
data pemantauan titik panas Kementerian Negara Lingkungan Hidup (KLH) sampai
dengan minggu ini, di wilayah Sumatra jumlah titik panas adalah 6615 dan sudah
melebihi jumlah titik panas pada periode yang sama pada tahun 2006 yaitu 5365
titik panas. Keadaan yang sama ini juga terjadi di Jambi dimana jumlahnya adalah
710 titik panas pada tahun 2009 dibandingkan 392 titik panas pada tahun 2006.
Khusus untuk Kabupaten Muaro Jambi, jumlah titik panas terdeteksi sampai saat ini
di tahun 2009 adalah 15 titik panas, lebih rendah dibandingkan pada periode yang
sama tahun 2006 yaitu sejumlah 46 titik panas.
Kecenderungan peningkatan jumlah titik panas pada bulan akhir-akhir ini di tahun
2009 menimbulkan perhatian kita karena disamping Indonesia tidak akan dapat
mencapai target penurunan titik panas, kondisi ini juga telah meniadakan upayaupaya yang telah dan sedang dibangun selama ini. Adapun target penurunan jumlah
titik panas yang tertuang dalam rencana aksi nasional perubahan iklim adalah sebesar 50 % sampai tahun 2009, sebesar 75% sampai tahun 2012 dan 95% sampai
tahun 2025.
Hadirin yang saya hormati,
Ijinkan saya untuk sekilas memberikan uraian tentang latar belakang terjadinya kerjasama Indonesia dan Singapura mengenai pengendalian kebakaran di Provinsi
Jambi. Hal ini dibangun dari pertemuan Technical Working Group (TWG) dan Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) yang secara rutin diselenggarakan di tingkat regional. Pertemuan ini bertujuan untuk membangun kerjasama regional terkait pengendalian kebakaran hutan dan lahan serta pencemaran asap lintas batas. Kerjasama
diperlukan karena isu ini sudah menjadi perhatian tidak hanya di tingkat nasional,
tetapi juga tingkat regional dan internasional. Isu yang dibicarakan termasuk dampak kebakaran hutan dan lahan yang berupa asap yang telah merugikan di berbagai
bidang termasuk bidang ekonomi, kesehatan dan lingkungan hidup khususnya bagi
Indonesia sendiri dan dirasakan juga di negara-negara lain seperti Singapura dan
Malaysia. Pada gilirannya, dampak berupa asap lintas batas tersebut telah meng26
ganggu jalannya pembangunan di Indonesia dan negara yang juga terpapar. Undangan yang terhormat,
Indonesia memerlukan dukungan dari negara lain dalam pengendalian kebakaran
hutan dan lahan. Kerjasama yang dibangun antara lain dengan Pemerintah
Singapura yaitu untuk mencegah dan menanggulangi kebakaran hutan dan lahan
serta dampaknya di Provinsi Jambi. Kerjasama ini tertuang dalam Letter of Intent
(LOI) yang telah ditandatangani pada tanggal 7 Nopember 2007. Berdasarkan LOI
yang telah ditandatangani tersebut bahwa kegiatan yang diidentifikasi dan
disepakati untuk dilaksanakan dalam kerangka LOI ini harus disepakati oleh dua
negara. Untuk itu, kegiatan yang dilaksanakan harus dapat mendukung Provinsi
Jambi dalam pengendalian kebakaran hutan dan lahan serta pencemaran asap lintas
batas. Selain itu, juga dapat menggerakkan pihak terlibat untuk berperan langsung
dalam pengendalian kebakaran hutan dan lahan. Hal ini supaya dapat menunjukkan
bahwa seluruh pihak berkomitmen dan berkontribusi langsung dalam pengendalian
kebakaran hutan dan lahan serta pencemaran asap lintas batas yang tidak hanya
untuk mengatasi permasalahan nasional tetapi juga di regional.
Pada hari ini, salah satu bentuk dari kerjasama yang dilakukan adalah melakukan
pemantauan pencemaran asap dengan parameter yang dipantau adalah PM10. Pemantauan PM10 penting sebagai sistem deteksi dini sehingga pemerintah daerah
dapat mengambil langkah segera seperti untuk melindungi masyarakat supaya tidak
terpapar asap yang dapat mengganggu kesehatan, atau terhadap keselamatan
transportasi. Alat yang dibantu oleh Pemerintah Singapura ini supaya dapat dioperasionalisasikan dan dipelihara dengan baik oleh Pemerintah Daerah.
Hadirin sekalian yang saya hormati,
Saya berharap bahwa kegiatan ini dapat berjalan lancar dan kerjasama yang
dibangun dapat memberikan manfaat kepada dua negara. Sekali lagi saya
ucapkan terima kasih kepada semua pihak yang terlibat dalam penyelenggaraan
acara ini. Penghargaan juga saya berikan kepada Pemerintah Singapura atas
berjalannya kerjasama selama ini.
Wassalam,
Ir. Rachmat Witoelar
Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup
Republik Indonesia
27
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
REMARKS BY DR YAACOB IBRAHIM
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
AND WATER RESOURCES
AT THE HANDOVER CEREMONY FOR THE AIR QUALITY AND
WEATHER MONITORING STATIONS
24 JULY 2009
JAMBI PROVINCE, INDONESIA
28
Dear Excellencies, Pak Rachmat and Pak Zulkifli
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am very pleased to be here today on this happy occasion to witness the official
taking over of the air quality and weather monitoring stations by our Indonesian
friends and colleagues. Today’s event marks an important milestone in the
Indonesia-Singapore Collaboration in Jambi Province. This collaboration would not
be possible without the commitment from Pak Zulkifli and his officials in the Jambi
provincial government to work together with Singapore. I also want to express deep
appreciation to my dear colleague, Pak Rachmat, who has strongly supported this
project together with his dedicated team from the Indonesian State Ministry of
Environment.
Background of Collaboration
I recall that in 2006 after a haze episode, Indonesia had invited ASEAN countries to
collaborate with the fire-prone provinces/regencies to prevent and mitigate land and
forest fires under the Indonesian Plan of Action (PoA). Singapore had responded
immediately to that invitation and offered to collaborate with the Jambi Provincial
Government and Indonesia’s State Ministry of Environment to develop a Master Plan
to deal with land and forest fires in Muaro Jambi Regency. Following this in Jan 2007, a team of officers from the Singapore Ministry of the
Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the National Environment
Agency (NEA) established contact with our friends in Jambi. Together, they worked
on deeper understanding of the local ground conditions in tackling land and forest
fires. A fact-finding mission was conducted and subsequently followed by several
other similar visits to Jambi over several months. With the strong leadership of Pak
Zulkifli, commitment by his provincial officials as well as support from our KLH
colleagues, both our countries worked closely together to develop the Jambi
Master Plan to implement measures to address the land and forest fires.
The Letter of Intent (LOI) signed in Nov 2007 formalised our collaboration and the
Jambi Master Plan. The LOI provided both Indonesia and Singapore the opportunity
to jointly develop and implement action programmes and measures to effectively
prevent and manage the fires on the ground.
Action Programmes Under the Collaboration
A total of 7 action programmes were developed. It is with great pleasure today that I
announce that we have already completed 6 of these 7 action programmes.
I was told that the Jambi officials appointed by Pak Zulkifli to implement the various
action programmes had been very cooperative and helpful in ensuring the smooth
29
implementation of the action programmes. All these would also not have been
possible without the hard work of the Jambi Provincial Government under Pak
Zulkifli. They are committed because they recognise that the smoke haze affected
the health and economic well-being of the people of Jambi more than anyone else
in the
region.
Amongst the 6 programmes completed is the installation and setting up of the air
quality and weather monitoring stations in Muaro Jambi Regency. These stations
have been operational since Dec 2008 and I have been informed by Pak Zulkifli that
data collected from these stations have given his people access to valuable information such as the state of the air quality and alerts on the fire danger situation. I hope
that these stations would continue to support Jambi’s efforts in the prevention and
mitigation of the fires.
I understand that the last remaining action programme, namely “Training on Fire
Prevention and Suppression Capabilities”, will also commence soon. With the
completion of that programme, Singapore and Indonesia would have then
completed all the programmes identified under the LOI.
These action programmes have benefitted the local authorities and communities by
enhancing their capacities and knowledge in preventing fires. In this regard, we hope
to continue collaborating with Jambi beyond the agreed programmes under the LOI. I am therefore pleased to note that two new action programmes have already been
developed. One of them is the Jambi Peatland Management project, which is jointly
implemented with our partners from the Singapore Delft Water Alliance (SDWA) and
the Jambi University. The other project, which involves the “Enhancement of
Aquaculture Expertise in Jambi”, would commence by this year, and it will be carried
out in conjunction with our partner, the Singapore Food Industries (SFI)
Transboundary Haze Pollution
While our collaboration has progressed well, we must all be aware that our
programmes in Jambi represent only a small part of a much larger challenge that we
face, as land and forest fires are not just an environment issue, but also an economic
and social one. We therefore have to rely on a coordinated multi-sectoral approach
and long term commitment by not only all of us here today, but also by our colleagues in other agencies, partners in the private sector and also the local
population. Only when every village and plantation in every province is committed to
efforts to prevent smoke haze will the region be free from it every dry season.
The region is now in the dry season and therefore must remain vigilant to ensure that
smoke haze does not affect us. The main message that we want to convey from
today is the need to step up efforts to prevent and mitigate land and forest fires. I
30
believe that all of us are aware of the economic, health and social repercussions, not
to mention the financial effects such as loss of tourism receipts, increase in health
costs, and environmental pollution costs, if a severe haze episode were to strike us
again. Hence, I would like to urge all of us to continue cooperating closely with one
another, so that all of our hard work done so far would not go to waste. We must
work towards a haze-free ASEAN.
Concluding Remarks
Based on the feedback from my officers, one worthy takeaway from the IndonesiaSingapore collaboration in Jambi is the genuine friendship and close relationship
built up over the years between officials from both countries. Singapore and
Indonesia are committed to maintain this close relationship so that we may continue
to work together effectively to jointly tackle the challenges associated with land and
forest fires.
In closing, I wish to express my special thanks to Pak Zulkifli for giving his support
and leadership selflessly. The collaboration would not have been successful without
Pak Zulifli’s pivotal role in guiding our officials and giving his full support to the
implementation of the action programmes.
I would also like to thank Pak Rachmat for taking precious time off your busy
schedule to grace this important event and your commitment to preventing haze in
the region.
Last but not least, I would like to express our gratitude to the Government of
Indonesia and the Provincial Government of Jambi for all the excellent arrangements
and hospitality extended to me and my delegation. I look forward to further
opportunities to develop and strengthen the collaboration and commitment with our
Indonesian friends and colleagues.
Thank you.
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
26
44
45
46
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to our colleagues from KLH, Jambi
provincial government and partners who have assisted us in the implementation of
the action programmes:
Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL)
Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP)
PT Wira Karya Sakti
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA)
Singapore Food Industries (SFI)
National Environment Agency
40 Scotts Road
Environment Building
Singapore 228231
Republic of Singapore
ww.nea.gov.sg
This booklet is printed on FSC paper.