Singapore and Indonesia Launch Joint Task Force to Combat Haze
Singapore and Indonesia established a joint task force to track financial trails and hold companies accountable for forest fires causing transboundary haze.
The governments of Singapore and Indonesia have agreed to establish a joint task force to hold companies accountable for forest fires and the resulting transboundary haze. Announced on October 27 during a meeting in Jakarta, the initiative focuses on strengthening business responsibility by sharing information, financial intelligence, and cross-border evidence. The task force may also pursue the recovery of assets from firms linked to deliberate burning.
Singapore is simultaneously reviewing its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to address enforcement gaps. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu stated that the government is studying ways to tighten laws to prevent companies from frustrating investigations by remaining outside Singapore. The government has already issued legal notices to 20 firms, including 10 Indonesian companies and 10 Singapore-registered palm oil or forestry firms, and convened a specialist panel of law and audit firms to assist with cross-border inquiries.
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan committed to using all available legal, regulatory, and economic instruments to stop future violations. Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir emphasized the need to follow the money trail, noting that communities in Sumatra and Kalimantan are the first victims of the smoke and that no border should shield those profiting from the fires.
