SIIA Director Lee Chen Chen was quoted in The Straits Times in an article by Arlina Arshad on 27 Aug 2016. An excerpt is below.
Indonesian satellites detected 17 hot spots from forest and land fires in Riau province yesterday, more than double the number overnight, as strong winds sent acrid smoke north-east towards Singapore.
Ms Lee Chen Chen, director of policy programmes at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, which has a team of researchers in Riau currently, said their local sources told them the fires in Northern Riau are not in plantations.
“Since the fires are not on concession lands, we believe it is important for the local government to take a central role to suppress the fires quickly with the help of companies,” she said.
Last year’s haze crisis, which affected millions in Indonesia as well as neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia, almost brought Indonesia to the brink of a national emergency.
Full Article: More hot spots in Riau detected in past week [The Straits Times, 27 Aug 2016]
Photo Credit: Walhi Jambi
