Singapore: Five Companies Agree to Cooperate in Transboundary Haze Fire Probe as NEA Sets Up Assessor Panel
Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) announced on October 31 that five Singapore-registered companies have agreed to cooperate with an investigation into fires linked to transboundary haze, agreeing to engage independent assessors and support the assessment process to establish whether their operations or business activities contributed to fires in Indonesia that caused haze across borders.
The NEA met representatives from Wilmar International, Golden Agri-Resources, APP Company, APP Company (China) and Indofood Agri Resources, all of which agreed to work with assessors from the Panel on Transboundary Haze. The agency will also meet Kencana Agri, which has expressed willingness to participate voluntarily.
Singapore selected seven specialists for the panel on Friday, including three investigation firms: Control Risks Group, FTI Consulting Singapore and Kroll Singapore. First Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Bumitama and Kencana have also started preparing documents requested by authorities.
Transboundary haze has been a recurring regional issue in Southeast Asia, and ASEAN-level discussion of Indonesian forest fires has continued this season, as GSM has reported; this round marks Singapore's move to advance company-level investigation through appointed assessors.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：印尼林火烟霾（资料图），Mesa Kala 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0 授权 / Photo: forest fire haze in Berau, Indonesia, by Mesa Kala, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
