11th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment

Hanoi, 3 August 2000 ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat held their 11th annual meeting in Hanoi on 1-3 August 2000 to review the environmental situation and transboundary problems encountered by ASEAN Member Countries and discuss collaborative responses in coping with them.

The Meeting reviewed the implementation of the Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment, 1999-2004, in particular on forest fires and haze, nature conservation and biodiversity, management of coastal and marine environment, multilateral environmental agreements and other related activities.

Recognising that recurrent episodes of transboundary haze pollution arising from land and forest fires are the most prominent and pressing environmental problems facing ASEAN, the ASOEN reviewed the progress in the implementation of Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP) and assessed possible risks of fire-and-haze outbreaks in the next few months. The Meeting also deliberated on the ways to enhance co-operation among ASEAN Member Countries in dealing with the forest and plantation fires.

The Meeting agreed that the negotiation process to develop an ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution be started as soon as possible. This Agreement will forge closer ASEAN cooperation in preventing, controlling and mitigating transboundary haze pollution through concerted efforts at the national and regional level, taking into account the relevant circumstances and socio-economic conditions of individual states.

On nature conservation and biodiversity in the region, the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation has been established in collaboration with the EU. The project aims to promote information exchange and networking among the member countries. Various kinds of training and research activities are implemented. In addition, ASEAN is preparing a Framework Agreement on Access to Genetic and Biological Resources to regulate the access of their valuable resources.

The Meeting discussed the development of regional cooperation framework for the integrated protection and management of coastal zones and marine environment as well as the surveillance and follow up action against illegal discharge at sea.

With regard to multilateral environment agreements, the Meeting deliberated on various activities that have been implemented and further planned to increase capacity building, networking and information exchange among the member countries.

The Meeting also considered the draft ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan to enhance promotion of environmental awareness in ASEAN. The Action Plan containing strategies and action for effective environmental education through formal and informal education, would be approved at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment in Malaysia in October 2000.

Aiming to increase public understanding and awareness, ASEAN Member Countries are undertaking several activities that are related to the ASEAN Environmental Year 2000. The 2nd ASEAN State of Environment Report will be published in December this year and will be followed by the 3rd Report in 2002. The Meeting also discussed the preparation of an ASEAN report on the Agenda 21 and agreed to hold follow up discussions in Bangkok in September 2000.

In order to harmonize the ASEAN environmental database, the Meeting agreed on the mechanisms on the harmonization process including the holding of regional and national workshops to facilitate and enhance the member countries capacity in this aspect.

The Senior Officials reiterated the need to strengthen collaboration with relevant UN and other international especially in the areas of trans-boundary haze, marine and coastal resources management, biodiversity and nature conservation, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and sustainable development of the Mekong River Basin. Technical consultations among the concerned agencies will be organized by end of the year.

The Meeting was attended by Dato Zakaria Noordin, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Development, Brunei Darussalam; H.E. Mr. Khieu Muth, Director General, Ministry of Environment, Cambodia; Mr. Effendy A. Sumardja, Assistant Minister for Global Environment Affairs, State Ministry for the Environment, Indonesia; Mr. Soukata Vichit, Director-General, Department of Environment, Lao PDR; Mr. Ng Kam Chiu, Secretary-General, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia; Mr. U Tint Swai, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Union of Myanmar in Hanoi; H.E. Mr. Ramon, J.P. Paje, Undersecretary for Policy and Technical Services, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, The Philippines; Mr. Tan Gee Paw, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Singapore; Mr. Sunthad Somchevita, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Thailand; Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, Director-General, National Environment Agency (NEA), Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Vietnam; and Dr. Azmi Mat Akhir, Director, Bureau of Economic and Functional Cooperation, ASEAN Secretariat and their delegations.