JOHOR BARU: The Indonesian government has revoked concessions for 20 plantations in the republic to reduce slash and burn activities that could cause haze in the future.
Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said this was among three efforts conducted by the Indonesian government to tackle burning activities that has led to transboundary haze in the past.
The other two efforts were Indonesia's bid to buy three Bombardier helicopters for cloud seeding, and to improve drainage systems at plantations where there were fires that caused the haze.
"I had a meeting with two senior high ranking Indonesian officials there recently.
"They told me the government has taken back 20 concessions for plantations," he said in a working visit to Johor today.
He said his Indonesian counterparts had given the assurance that Indonesia had taken pro-active initiatives to curb open burning, which will prevent the haze from returning.
On another matter, Wan Junaidi said he was impressed with the upcoming Forest City project which consists of man-made islands off Johor's coast as it was a benchmark development that would put Malaysia on the international map.