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Environment & Climate

Singapore and Indonesia agree to form task force against haze from illegal burning

Foreign ministers met in Jakarta and agreed to strengthen enforcement and consider new powers against illegal burning.

Updated Oct 27, 2026 · 22:21 UTC2 reports

The short version

  • Indonesia and Singapore agreed to set up a joint task force against illegal land burning that has caused toxic haze.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • Foreign ministers Vivian Balakrishnan and Arrmanatha Nasir agreed in Jakarta to strengthen enforcement under existing powers and consider new ones.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • Indonesia's Forestry Ministry reports over 2,020 square kilometers burned from January to July, while the Nusantara Atlas project estimates nearly 8,960 by the end of August.[ABC News · Associated Press]

Key facts

  • Indonesia and Singapore agreed to set up a task force to combat illegal land burning that has caused toxic haze.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • Foreign ministers Vivian Balakrishnan and Arrmanatha Nasir met in Jakarta and agreed the task force would strengthen enforcement under existing regulatory powers and consider new ones.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • Indonesia's Forestry Ministry recorded more than 2,020 square kilometers of burned land between January and July.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • The Nusantara Atlas project estimated nearly 8,960 square kilometers had burned by the end of August.[ABC News · Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • The burned-area figures from the Forestry Ministry and the Nusantara Atlas project cover different periods and come from different sources, so they are not directly comparable.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • The reporting does not specify the task force's membership, timeline, or the new powers the two countries agreed to consider.[ABC News · Associated Press]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.