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Southeast Asian leaders must prioritise actions to protect disasters health and welfare 42210154.
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APHS 2015
ASIA PACIFIC HOMELAND SECURITY 27 - 30 October 2015 Singapore |
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Press Release at APHS 2015
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| Southeast Asian leaders must prioritise actions to protect disasters health and welfare | |||
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In a bid to tackle the Southeast Asian haze crisis, regional leaders must prioritise actions that protect the health and welfare of those affected, according to an industry leader participating in the upcoming Asia Pacific Homeland Security (APHS) conference.
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 Haze problems in Sumatra |
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Dr. Jonatan A. Lassa, from the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS) highlights that while the collaborative regional initiatives underway to extinguish the forest fires and prosecute those implicated are important, the immediate focus must be on the well-being of the thousands of people impacted.
At least 20-25 million people in Sumatra and Kalimantan are suffering severely from the haze, with hundreds of thousands more people in Indonesia and neighbouring countries Singapore and Malaysia facing respiratory infections and other ailments. “In any crisis the golden rule is to act to protect people first and limit the human cost, but with the haze we see the opposite happening as governments focus on dissecting the corporate side of the issue while human suffering continues,” said Dr Lassa, who will be moderating at the inaugural APHS conference in Singapore on 27 October. He will take a look at the lessons learnt from recent events such as the Great East Japan earthquake and the Erawan Shrine blast in Bangkok. Dr Lassa added that to ensure victims are taken care of and to improve the effectiveness of responses to the haze problem, a collective effort is needed locally, nationally and regionally. “Local officials need to be empowered to cooperate with plantation firms and local indigenous communities in joint firefighting exercises. At the same time, the civil society along with victims of the haze must rally together to create long-term pressure for proper haze management at a local level. “Collaboration with the private sector is also vital. With the right incentives in place, the private sector can bring much needed resources and support in creating stronger fire control and response at every level,” he concluded. Mr Jimmy Lau, chairman of COGES Asia, organiser of the APHS conference, said: “The haze events in Southeast Asia have a huge human and economic cost each year and the situation can only improve if companies and governments work more closely together. “The first edition of the APHS conference will for the first time bring together stakeholders from both the public and private sector on the same platform to look into how the region can tackle complex issues such as the haze. We look forward to robust discussions from industry experts on how the region can build resilience against such major threats and hazards,” Mr Lau said. |