Malaysia's palm oil industry steps up fire prevention efforts as 'Godzilla' El Nino fuels haze woes

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's palm oil industry is stepping up efforts to prevent and manage forest fires as a prolonged drought driven by El Nino raises concerns over both crop production and the sector's environmental reputation. 

Industry players, led by major plantation companies, have pledged to strengthen joint monitoring and fire prevention efforts, including closer cooperation with local communities and small farm operators to tackle hotspots that contribute to transboundary haze. 

"The weather is extraordinary this year. Godzilla El Nino, whatever you call it," said Patrick Ng, director of operations at KLK Plantations, describing the prolonged dry spell affecting parts of Indonesia. 

"Just imagine 100 days without rain. In some areas, 110 or 120 days, not a single drop." 

Ng warned that the prolonged dry spell was also starting to affect palm oil production in Indonesia. 

"You will see some effects very soon because when you get four months with no rain, abortion of fruits is going to come," he added. 

The industry's efforts come as Southeast Asia grapples with another haze season, with smoke from fires in Indonesia affecting air quality across parts of the region. 

"FIRES ACROSS ENTIRE LANDSCAPE"

More than 1 million hotspots were recorded by satellite data this year, reigniting debate over the source of fires, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). It estimates nearly 900,000 hectares in Kalimantan, including national parks, have been affected by fires this year. 

The RSPO, an industry watchdog, has defended certified plantation operators in Malaysia and Indonesia, arguing that available data does not support the perception that most fires originate within palm oil concessions - areas of land licensed for such production. 

"The fires are across the entire landscape," said RSPO chief executive Joseph D'Cruz. 

"At the moment, the data from Indonesia shows 92 per cent of that is outside oil palm concession areas. So the perception that this is being done by oil palm players within oil palm concessions actually isn't backed up by the evidence." 

Singapore-listed palm oil producer First Resources and Bumitama Agri said on Friday (Oct 16) that current hotspots were largely concentrated in regions where the firm does not operate and cited prolonged dry conditions as a key driver of elevated fire risk.

First Resources also said in a separate regulatory filing on Thursday that there had been instances where fires originating outside its boundaries spread into areas under its management, adding that the presence of hotspots within a concession should not automatically be taken as evidence that a concession holder caused or condoned a fire. 

Still, D’Cruz acknowledged public frustration and said the industry needed to respond more proactively and collectively to minimise reputational damage to Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's two largest palm oil producers. 

"The focus right now should be on trying to protect the things that are most important: the communities, the high conservation areas, and learning the lessons we can from this current outbreak to ensure that once and for all we put systems in place to prevent this happening again," he said. 

FIREFIGHTING HELP OFFERED

Malaysia has also offered assistance to Indonesia's firefighting efforts, with Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi previously saying that his country had offered a firefighting aircraft, three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel to assist with operations. 

Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said that the matter had been referred to Malaysia’s foreign ministry to facilitate official coordination with Jakarta. 

"Our expertise is ready, our manpower is ready, our assets are ready," he added. 

"We've written in officially. I think it's just a matter of coordination and we are ready to help our neighbour." 

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has since approved foreign assistance to tackle the forest and land fires that have worsened the regional haze crisis. 

Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said on Thursday, citing local media reports, that Prabowo had authorised assistance from neighbouring countries, although it was not clear which countries had offered help or what form that assistance would take. 

However, environmental experts say more sustained relief may only come with a shift in weather patterns. 

MORE RAIN EXPECTED IN NOVEMBER

Speaking on CNA’s Asia First on Friday, Professor Rajasekhar Balasubramanian, Keppel Chair in Sustainability Solutions at the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore, noted that Indonesia is trialling dry ice to help ease the haze from forest fires. 

The operation involving 1.5 tonnes of dry ice aims to improve air quality and increase visibility in haze-affected areas, according to Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs.

But this would provide only “temporary relief” from exposure to smoke haze, Prof Balasubramanian said.

“What is more important is to have the shift in the monsoon, which will happen hopefully in early November. 

“At that point, we would expect to see a lot more rainfall through natural processes and that would hopefully put out most of the fires. 

“What's difficult to put out would be the underground peat fires, which would continue to smoulder. Vegetation fires that we have above ground would be easy to put out though rainfall ... but of course continued rainfall is an important requirement.”