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Malaysia hosted the Eighth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, on 6-7 October 2000. It was preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM), which was also held in Kota Kinabalu on 5 October 2000.
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The Meeting was attended by H.E. Pengiran Indera Wijaya Pengiran Dr. Haji Ismail bin Pengiran Haji Damit, Minister of Development, Brunei Darussalam; H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth, Minister of Environment, Cambodia; H.E. Dr. Alexander Sonny Keraf, State Minister of Environment, Indonesia; H.E. Dr. Souli Nanthavong, Minister to Prime Minister’s Office for Science, Technology and the Environment, Lao PDR; H.E. Dato Law Hieng Ding, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Malaysia; H.E. U Than Tun, Ambassador of Myanmar to Brunei Darussalam; H.E. Dr. Ramon J.P. Paje, Undersecretary of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of the Philippines; H.E. Mr. Lim Swee Say, Acting Minister for the Environment, Singapore; H.E. Mr. Porntep Techapaibul, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Thailand; H.E. Dr. Chu Tuan Nha, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Viet Nam.
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The Meeting reviewed the progress and the implementation of the ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment (SPAE). The areas of cooperation are on coastal and marine environment, nature conservation and biodiversity, the Multilateral Environmental Agreements and the transboundary haze.
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The Ministers also reviewed the progress in the implementation of Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP). They commended the ASEAN Haze Technical Task Force (HTTF) for its achievements in the regional fire and haze monitoring, prevention and mitigation activities.
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The Ministers expressed their concerns that it would take only a short spell for a large number of fires to break out and the smoke haze to return to the region. Meteorologists in the region have predicted that the La Nina wet weather is reaching its tail end and that there is a 30% chance of El Nino returning next year. The Ministers urged Indonesia to take effective enforcement measures to tackle plantation and forest fires in order to prevent a repeat of the 1997 regional haze episode.
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The Ministers noted the development of Fire Suppression Mobilisation Plan activities for fire-prone areas. The Ministers expressed their appreciation for the continued support provided by Australia, Canada, the United States, the Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the implementation of RHAP.
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The Ministers agreed to proceed with the negotiation for the development of an ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze as soon as possible.
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The Ministers agreed to synergise the ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action with the Regional Action Plan for Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development, 2001-2005 for Asia and the Pacific Region with a view to optimise the utilisation of limited resources in the implementation of the planned activities.
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The Ministers reiterated ASEAN’s support on the proposal of Indonesia to host “Rio + 10” Conference on Environment and Development.
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The Ministers support the proposal of Cambodia to host an Asia Pacific regional preparatory meeting in the run-up to the Rio + 10 Conference on Environment and Development.
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The Ministers endorsed the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan 2000-2005, which includes strategies and recommendations for implementing the environmental education programmes for formal and non-formal education, manpower capacity building, networking, collaboration and communication.
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The Ministers noted the activities aimed at raising public awareness and capacity on environmental protection and sustainable development carried out by the various ASEAN countries in connection with ASEAN Environment Year (AEY) 2000.
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The Ministers adopted the Kota Kinabalu Resolution on the Environment as attached.
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The next formal Ministerial Meeting will be held in Myanmar in 2003.
