Joint Press Statement of the Fifth Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (4 April 2000)

The Meeting was held in an informal setting. The Ministers exchanged views on a wide range of issues regarding ASEAN environmental cooperation. These included haze related matters, the ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment, the ASEAN State of the Environment Report, ASEAN Environment Year 2000 and the upcoming environmental events at the regional and global levels.

AEY 2000
The ASEAN Environment Year 2000 was officially launched by His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince, Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah on 4 April 2000. In His Royal Highness opening address His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince, stressed on the importance of efforts to educate and inculcate the public with the right concept of environment protection, proper resource utilisation, as well as on minimising waste. His Royal Highness further pointed out that “All this efforts call for an appropriate plan of action, with the participation of not only the government or public sector, but also the private sector and non-government organisations as well”.
The Ministers commended Brunei Darussalam for the ASEAN Environment Year (AEY) 2000 launching that preceded the IAMME and stressed the importance of raising public awareness on environmental matters. Based on the theme of “ Our Heritage, Our Future “, it is hoped that the AEY 2000 activities that will be undertaken by each member country for the rest of the year, will increase the public’s sense of stewardship towards protecting their environment, which would in turn support a region wide effort to promote environmental protection and sustainable development.

Strategic Plan of Action on Environment (SPAE)
Despite the impacts of the recent economic crisis on the natural resources and environmental conditions, the ASEAN Environment Ministers discussed the importance of keeping their commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. Hence, to move forward towards the future goals and directions that the ASEAN leaders expressed in ASEAN Vision 2020 and the Hanoi Plan of Action, which were adopted in 1997 & 1998 respectively, the Ministers adopted the ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment (SPAE) for 1999-2004. The Plan consists of the key activities to be implemented by ASOEN and its subsidiary bodies over the next 5 years, including the areas of coastal and marine environment, nature conservation and biodiversity, multilateral environmental agreements, management of land and forest fires and haze, and other environmental activities. The thrust of the programs can be summarized as follows:

a. Trans-boundary Haze
The Ministers discussed the recent haze incident caused by land clearing by some plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan following a short dry weather condition. The Ministers noted the various responses by Indonesian Government, including the freezing of the permit for cutting (IPK) of eight plantation companies in Riau and continuing the investigation, preparation for criminal court proceedings for four companies and intensification of monitoring, prevention and mitigation activities. The detail of these actions appears in the Special Report on Indonesia Forest Fire and Haze Situation and Actions Taken. The Ministers further noted the timely information provided in the ASEAN Haze Action Online (www.haze-online.or.id) to inform the concerned officials and general public on the haze situation and ASEAN’s responses.
The Ministers noted that the March haze episode was caused mainly by the plantation companies. They expressed strong objection to such irresponsible behaviour. They agreed to take all possible measures to deal with the culprits and to enforce the zero-burning policy.
The Ministers commended the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) for its valuable services in seasonal climate forecasting, internet based satellite images, including hot spot and smoke-haze maps, regional wind and haze trajectory forecasts. The Ministers noted the potential frequency and intensity of the forest fire and haze in the coming dry season starting in May and the predicted El-Nino, which is expected to create drier climatic conditions toward the end of this year or early next year. The Ministers reiterated the importance of remaining vigilant and continued commitment to enforcing national policies and ASEAN collaborative efforts to address transboundary haze pollution problems. In particular, the Ministers agreed to intensify the collaboration to ensure a haze free condition for the APEC 2000 meetings in Brunei Darussalam.
The Ministers reviewed the progress in implementing the Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP). They commended the effort of the Haze Technical Task Force (HTTF) in the achievement on regional monitoring, prevention and preparation on mitigation activities. In particular, the Ministers expressed their satisfaction on the intensification of the monitoring activity and the more effective use of the information to support the prosecution process and identifying location of the fire. They are also pleased with the progress made in the implementation of the Immediate Action Plan to prepare the local government in the haze prone areas.
The Ministers expressed appreciation for the continued support provided by the international donor community in the implementation of the RHAP. In particular, the Ministers expressed appreciation of the assistance by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in preparation for a possible ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The Ministers endorsed the decision by 15^th HTTF to hold the first meeting of the Working Group of Legal and Technical Experts in May 2000 to assess the need to negotiate the Agreement.

b. Coastal and Marine
This area of cooperation is mainly focusing on sustainable management of the seas of ASEAN. To achieve this, a framework for improving regional coordination for the integrated protection and management of coastal zones and a Regional Action Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land and Sea-based Activities are being developed.

c. Nature Conservation and Biodiversity
This area of cooperation is primarily focusing on sustainable utilization of biological resources and conservation of ecosystems. The programs that are being developed are the institutional strengthening of the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC), protection of ASEAN Heritage Parks and Reserves, adopting and implementing an ASEAN Protocol on access to genetic resources and the sustainable management of water resources.

d. Multilateral Environmental Agreements
This area of cooperation is mostly focusing on developing cooperative approaches to key international environmental agreements and Agenda 21. To achieve this, the ASEAN Member Countries have started activities on capacity building, strengthening networks and agreeing on common approaches.

e. Other environmental activities
These are primarily focusing on the promotion of ASEAN Environment Year campaigns, developing and implementing the ASEAN Environmental Education Plan and publishing and disseminating ASEAN State of the Environment Reports (SoER).

State of the Environment Report 2000 (SoER)
The ASEAN Ministers on Environment expressed satisfaction on the progress of the preparation of the ASEAN State of the Environment Report (SoER) 2000, which will be an account of ASEAN’s natural resources and environmental status. This report, which will be an updating of the earlier report that was published in 1997, is expected to be available towards the end of the year. Such periodic reports will serve as a benchmark for measuring ASEAN’s performance towards sustainable utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. The Ministers expressed their appreciation to UNEP for funding this important activity.

Donor Collaboration
In line with ASEAN’s commitment to pursue sustainable development in the region and the need for external support in fulfilling its goals, the Ministers noted that ASEAN has forged co-operative arrangements with several UN agencies including UNEP, UNDP, UNESCO, ESCAP and CSD. The meeting agreed on the need to intensify such collaboration with the UN agencies and extend collaboration with other regional and other inter-governmental organizations as well as other donors in the future. The proposed collaborative programs included the sustainable development of the Greater Mekong Sub-region and the East Asian Seas, both of which are new initiatives that the ASEAN member countries identified as important to pursue.
In addition to the external collaboration mentioned above, the Ministers took note that ASEAN is currently implementing several projects including the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC) in collaboration with the European Union, the Environment Education Action Plan with funding from the Hanns Seidel Foundation and UNEP and Waste Water Treatment Technology Transfer and Cleaner Production Demonstration Project in cooperation with Australia.
The Ministers discussed ASEAN’s role and inputs to UNEP’s first Ministerial Forum to be held in May 2000 in Malmo, Sweden and the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development to be held in September 2000 in Kitakyushu City, Japan.

The Ministers agreed to hold the 8th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment in Malaysia tentatively on 24-26 August 2000.

ASEAN MINISTERS OF ENVIRONMENT OR REPRESENTATIVES

Brunei Darussalam^{H.E Pengiran Indera Wijaya Pengiran Dr. Haji Ismail bin Pengiran Haji Damit Minister of Development}	Myanmar^{Mr. U Ne Myo Aung Charge d’ Affaires Embassy of the Union of Myanmar Brunei Darussalam}
Cambodia^{H.E Dr. Mok Mareth Minister for the Environment}	Philippines^{Mr. Edgardo Manuel Minister Embassy of the Philippines Brunei Darussalam}
Indonesia ^{H.E Dr. Alexander Sonny Keraf State Minister for Environment and Chairman of Environmental Impact Management Agency}	Singapore ^{H.E Mr. Lee Yock Suan Minister for the Environment and Minister for Information and the Arts}
Lao PDR^{Mr. Soukata Vichit Director General, Department of Environment Science, Technology and Environment Agency (STEA)}	Thailand^{H.E Dr. Arthit Ourairat Minister of Science Technology and the Environment}
Malaysia^{H.E Datuk Law Hieng Ding Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment}	Viet Nam^{H.E Bui Manh Hai Vice Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment}
	ASEAN Secretariat^{H.E. Dr. Suthad Setboonsarng Deputy Secretary General}