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Joint Press Statement The 8th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment
Cebu, Philippines, 8-10 September 1997 |
- The Philippines hosted the Eighth Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) held from 8 to 10 September 1997 in Cebu, the Philippines. The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Tan Gee Paw, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Singapore. It was attended by delegates from all ASEAN Member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat.
- The Meeting specially welcomed the delegates from Lao People's Democratic Republic and Union of Myanmar, who participated for the first time as members of ASEAN.
- The Meeting reviewed the activities of the ASEAN Working Groups on Nature Conservation; ASEAN Seas and Marine Environment; Transboundary Pollution; Environmental Management; Environmental Economics; and Environmental Information, Public Awareness and Education. The Meeting also reviewed the status of its cooperative activities with its Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, United States and UNDP.
- The Meeting exchanged views on matters pertaining to various international conventions and protocols relating to the environment, namely Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Basel Convention on the Control of Transboudary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
- The Meeting identified 3 flagship projects for implementation, namely the ASEAN Environment Year 2000, ASEAN Environment Awards and the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation. These high profile projects will elevate environmental cooperation in ASEAN to a higher plane which is in line with the decision of the 5th ASEAN Summit held in Bangkok in December 1995. ASOEN will submit its recommendations on these proposals to the ASEAN Environment Ministers at the 7th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME) on 17-18 September 1997 in Manado, Indonesia.
- The Meeting noted that the ASEAN Secretariat would be publishing the First ASEAN State of the Environment Report. The report will summarize ASEAN's initiatives in responding to the challenge of sustainable development and will present important issues and concerns that remain to be addressed. A system for exchange of environmental information among ASEAN Member Countries will also be established.
- The Meeting noted with appreciation the efforts of the Haze Technical Task Force, chaired by Indonesia, in addressing the issue of transboundary haze pollution.
- The Meeting also discussed several initiatives to achieve the long term environmental goals for Ambient Air and River Water Qualities for the region. It would be submitting its recommendations to the ASEAN Environment Ministers at their next meeting in Manado, Indonesia.
- ASOEN will be holding its Ninth Meeting in Singapore in 1998.
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