Asia Plantation Capital Insight on Singapore Haze

SINGAPORE - July 10, 2013 - PRLog -- ...as the search for long term solutions on the smoke haze from Indonesia continues.

Generally recognised as being caused by man-made forest fires in Sumatra this investigative news team collected together ideas and opinions from a number of business leaders and academics in Singapore.

Barry Rawlinson was keen to point out that slash and burn is not used on APC plantations.

Like most forestry professionals Barry recognises that "Slash and burn has been going on for generations and generations. It is only now that people are more aware of the potential disasters that can be caused. It was previously accepted as a normal activity by local small holders and is seen as a relatively inexpensive way of clearing land; the charcoal that is left actually puts nutrients back into the soil."

Barry went on to confirm that slash and burn is no longer considered environmentally acceptable or desirable.

The investigative reporting offered solutions including the suggestion of increased cloud-seeding and also discussed the 2012 Trans-boundary Haze Agreement, but concluded with deep peat soils in Sumatra affected by fires, high temperatures combined with strong westerly winds could bring the haze back to Singapore before the October rains improve the outlook.

When it comes to Asia Plantation Capital's own plantations, environmental safety and protection are top priorities. There is a strict set of environmental guidelines when it comes to creating and maintaining their operations. With speciality species such as Agarwood (http://www.asiaplantationcapital.com/plantations/species/...) the plantations individually are not large areas so APC can manage fire risk with good ground maintenance and cover the additional staff costs by intercropping with foods such as banana during the initial years. It is also common practice for APC to have several plantations in the same area, and in these instances APC is working with the local communities on a number of projects including education so bring "best practice" on land management and forest fire risk into the heart of the debate.


About Asia Plantation Capital
Asia Plantation Capital (http://www.asiaplantationcapital.com/) is an owner and operator of a diverse range of commercial plantation and farming businesses across the Asia-Pacific region and globally, part of the Asia Plantation Capital Group of associated companies. Their focus is on multicultural and diverse plantation projects geared to the domestic and commercial demands of the countries in which they operate. Working closely with and supporting fragile local communities is an underlying core principle of the APC business, providing social and cultural support as well as investment to move these communities away from traditional deforestation and illegal logging activities as a main income source. Established officially in 2008, although operating privately since 2002, the group now has plantation and agricultural projects on four continents with operational projects at various stages in Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, The Gambia, North America and Europe.