VietNamNet Bridge – Environment ministers from ASEAN member states (AMS) held their 12th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment and the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution on September 26 in the capital city Bangkok of Thailand.

At the meetings, the ministers reviewed regional cooperation on a number of environmental issues, particularly the related actions in the environmental sustainability section of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint.

They also discussed new initiatives to further promote regional environmental cooperation, according to a press release by the ASEAN Secretariat.

The ministers adopted the Bangkok Resolution on ASEAN Environmental Cooperation to reaffirm ASEAN’s commitment to further strengthen ASEAN regional cooperation on natural resources and environment for sustainable development, regional integration and the realisation of the ASCC.

They also adopted the ASEAN Action Plan on Joint Response to Climate Change which aims to implement the ASEAN Leaders Statement on Joint Response to Climate Change adopted at the 16th ASEAN Summit in April 2010 in Hanoi.

The AMS-12 approved the nomination of U Minh Thuong National Park in Vietnam and Nat Ma Taung National Park in Myanmar as 31st and 32nd ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP), respectively, said the press release.

The ministers welcomed the significant progress in the implementation of the Work Programme of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, the development of the ASEAN-wide Fire Danger Rating System. They, however, expressed serious concern on the report of the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre which shows significant increase in hotspots in the region in 2012.

In addition, other relevant issues were put on the table such as contribution to the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Control Fund, partnerships-supported projects on environmental protection, whose various activities are being conducted at the pilot sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, of which, there is the project on the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities funded by Japan.

On September 27, the ministers met their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea at the 11th ASEAN Plus Three Environment Ministers Meeting in Bangkok.

The meeting aimed to exchange views on global environmental issues, discuss activities on areas such as biodiversity, climate change, environmental education, water resources management, promotion of environmentally sound technology and cleaner production and environmentally sustainable cities.

The environment ministers are expected to meet again in Indonesia in October 2013.

VietNamNet/Vietnam Plus