At the Informal Meeting, the Ministers discussed and exchanged views on a wide range of regional and international issues. At the international level, the Ministers discussed the following concerns and developments:

(a) Commission on Sustainable Development

The Ministers explored and analyzed the developments made at the second session of the Commission on Sustainable Development which as held in May 1994. The Ministers agreed that ASEAN should continue to call upon the developed countries for the immediate and meaningful implementation of the commitments made at the Rio Summit, particularly on issues such as, land management, desertification, forests and biodiversity.

(b) First Conference of the Parties of the Covention on Biological Diversity

The Ministers agreed that ASEAN should actively participate in the Conference to ensure that the discussions on the provisions regarding the access to genetic resources, technology transfer and equitable sharing of benefits between the sources and users will consider the interest of biodivesity-rich countries as several ASEAN countries fall into this category.

(c) Montreal Protocol

The Meeting emphasized the need for increased consultation and cooperation among Member, Countries regarding the developments in the Montreal Protocol since the decisions made under the Protocol will have direct and significant impact on the economies of ASEAN Member Countries.

(d) Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

The Ministers agreed to explore the possibility of presenting a proposal to the Convention to include wastes arising from tanker cleaning activities in the Convention's provisions.

While- recognizing the achievements made by ASEAN Member Countries in the field of the environment, the Ministers noted the need to further strengthen regional cooperative efforts on such environmental issues as the destruction of coral reefs, illegal fishing and transboundary pollution. Accordingly, the Minister, called for greater regional cooperation in the management of the region's natural resources and the control of transboundary pollution within the ASEAN region as one ecosystem.

To address the increasing periodicity and worsening impact of the haze problem in the region and having recognized the complexity of the problem, the Ministers agreed that measures should be taken to control the problem and that a regional cooperative plan to build capacity should be prepared. As a follow-up to the decisions made at the Informal Ministerial Meeting and as a programme for the ASEAN Environment Year, the Government of Malaysia hosted an "ASEAN Meeting o Transboundary Pollution" in June 1995 in Kuala Lumpur. The Meeting reached regional understanding on and appreciation of the impact of transboundary pollution/ haze and the need for capacity building and cooperative efforts to combat transboundary pollution/haze. The Meeting developed an ASEAN cooperative plan to address the transboundary pollution issue which contained, among others, the following: (1) comprehensive measures for prevention, management and control; (2) establishment of an early warning system including identification of focal points for information exchange; (3) building p of national and regional institutional capacity,- and (4) establishing cooperative links with developed countries to assist ASEAN's efforts.

Following the endorsement of the Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment by the Sixth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME) held in April 1995, the ASEAN Secretariat in cooperation with ASOEN has been pursuing activities recommended in the Strategic Plan, specifically under Strategy 2 and 3.

In relation to "Strategy 2: Promote government-private sector interactions that lead towards the development of policies that mutually support the thrust of each sector",particulary under Action 2.1, ASOEN has received assistance from UNDP under the Fifth ASEAN-UNDP Subregional Programme (ASP-5) to implement a programme to lay the fundation for reconciling trade and environmental policies in the ASEAN region.

The ASEAN Secretariat, as the executing agent of the ASP-5 Sub- Programme on Trade and Environmental has started the implementation of the Sub- Programme in the middle of 1994. The Sub- Programme has four elements, namely:

a) Familiarization on the Linkages better, Trade and Environmental Issues;

b) ASEAN Policy Towards External Trade-Related Environmental Policies;

c) National Level Studies on the Linkages between Trade and the Environment in ASEAN; and

d) Feasibility Study for Modelling ASEAN

Economic-Environmental Interactions.

In achieving the objectives of these elements, the ASEAN Secretariat has organized several activities such as training workshops, surveys and studies, which are now underway. It has retained the services of an expert to assist in the implementation of the activities. Specifically, the ASEAN Secretariat is now involved in the following activities:

a). A series of Workshops on the Linkages between Trade and Environment, under Element I, which, took place in May 1995 in Manila, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. The workshops were attended by senior officials from the trade and environment ministries of the ASEAN Member Countries, representatives from NGOs, private sector and the academia. Internationally renowned resource persons and experts were retained to facilitate dialogue at the workshops.

b). Under Element 11: ASEAN Policy Towards Eternal Trade-Related Environmental Policies, the ASEAN Secretariat has retained the services of UNCTAD to undertake the compilation of information n the use of trade and enviromental measures in International agreements. This activity does not only aim, to create a databank on intentional agreements but also to develop an alnalysis of the possible effects of these agreements on the ASEAN region. The first draft of the report ,as completed in May 1995 and the final draft will be ready by July 1995. The draft will be consolidated with the first output of Element III: National Level Studies on the Linkages Between Trade and the Environment III: ASEAN. Within the scope of "Strategy 3: Strengthen the knowledge and information database on environmental matters", the ASEAN Secretariat on behalf of ASOEN is implementing two sets of activities: establishment of an ASEAN and Natural Resource, Information, Centre (AENRICH) and publication of the 1995 ASEAN State of the Environment Report. Both these sets of activities are funded by UNEP Environmental Assessment Programme for Asia and the Pacific (EAP-AP) based in Bangkok.

Under, the activities on AENRIC, the initial output as a set of capacity-building project proposals from ASEAN Member Countries. The proposals describe each country's technical assistance requirements to establish the national environmental and natural resources database including its coordinating mechanisms. Funding for these projects is being sought by UNEP fro-n its donor countries. The second output is an ASEAN Directory of Institutions and Experts dealing with environment issues. Aside from listing the various environmentally related Institutions and their experts in the ASEAN member countries, the Directory also lists out priority environmental issues by member country; environmental concerns by institution- institution sources of bio- physical and socio-economic data; availability of computer hardware, software and digital satellite images by institution" and staff qualifications and skills in operating computer softwares by institution. The main purpose of setting up the Directory 's to facilitate exchange of information among the member countries, while concurrently UNEP can use the data to assess the capacity-building needs of each Member Country with a view to providing training, computer hardwares/softwares and digital satellite images.

The 1995 ASEAN State of the Environment Report (SOER), which will be the first such publication in ASEAN, is planned to be issued in time for the Fourth ASEAN Summit in December 1995. The Report will be published in two volumes, the first will contain highlights of ASEAN environmental issues and policy options, while the second will contain, a detailed description and analysis, of the biophysical and socioeconomic data. In this endeavour, UPEND has provided experts from ASEAN to prepare the draft Report, funding in Experts Group Meeting on the ASEAN State of the Report to be held from 4-6 July 1995 in Manila, and supporting the cost of printing the publication.

In line with the decision made at the Sixth AMME on the declaration of ASEAN Environment Year 1995, Environment Ministers of ASEAN Member Countries launched national-level activities for the promotion of environmental awareness. The series of national activities ere sponsored and promoted by high-level government officials of the Member Countries. The activities ranged from seminars and workshops o. critical environmental issues conducted by eminent persons and experts o the environment to coastal ecology training camps for the youth.

The ASEAN Secretariat, in consultation with representative, from US-Environment Improvement Project (US-EIP), the US- Asian Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) air the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), has initiated several activities at the regional level for implementation during 1995. Among the notable ones are : workshop to develop protocols for coordinating transboundary shipment of hazardous waste within ASEAN; workshop to develop mechanisms for assessing and tracking toxic materials in ASEAN workshop to analyze the feasibility of 'Institutionalizing inter and intra-ASEAN national waste exchange; and the development and distribution of attractive ASEAN-wide articles, which will be prepared 'n national languages, highlighting environmental technical and economic successes in the region for publication in selected journals and national airline magazines.

The six Working Groups of the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) pursued multifarious activities within their respective areas of competence.

ASEAN Seas and Marine Environment

The contract to manage the ASEAN- Australia Economic Cooperation Programme Phase III (AAECP Phase III) project on Coastal Zone Environment and Resources Management has been signed between AIDAB and Australian Marine Science and Technology Pty Ltd (AMSAT). The project will be jointly implemented by ASOEN and COST. AMSAT has started making preliminary contacts with relevant ASEAN leading agencies to plan the implementation of the project.

Environmental Economics

The Working Group on Environmental Economics has compiled case studies and data to illustrate the Applicability of economic incentives for pollution prevention in major areas in the ASEAN region. The Working Group's endeavour will form part of the project on applicability of Economic Instruments for Pollution Control Prevention in ASEAN Member Countries.

Nature Conservation

The Working Group on Nature Conservation received favourable response from the European Union (EU) for its project proposal on the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC). The Centre, to be established in the Philippines, will serve as a central repository of 'information and documents on biodiversity of ASEAN Member Countries and as a central coordinating body o, secretariat for all biodiversty-related activities 'n the region. The EU has conducted two fact-finding missions for the project, one n November 1994 and the other in January 1995. The findings were discussed at the Fifth Meeting of the Working Group held in May in Manila. A Meeting of ASEAN and EU experts on the ASEAN Centre on Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC) was held concurrently with the Meeting of the Fifth ASEAN Working Group on Nature Conservation, 3-5 May 1995 in Manila. The Working Group also looked into the feasibility of implementing the ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and an action plan for the in-situ conservation of endangered species. On a related issue, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have signed the Biodiversity Convention, and some of these countries are seeking their own funding to establish their national biodiversity centres.

Environmental Management

The project design document of the AAECP Phase III project on Waste Water Treatment Technology Transfer and Cleaner Production Demonstration, a joint ASOEN and COST project, has been circulated to ASEAN Member Countries and AIDAB is in the process of appointing a suitable implementing agent.

Transboundary Pollution

The Working Group on Transboundary Pollution met from 24 to 26 May 1995 in Pattaya, Thailand to review the status of its projects. The project proposals on the strategic study on haze problems affecting the ASEAN region and a study on the impact of acid rain in ASEAN countries received favourable consideration from AIDAB. As required by AIDAB, the project proposals are being reformulated, while at the same time AIDAB is engaging a consultant who will assist in identifying the problems of haze and acidic deposition in the ASEAN region.

Environmental information, Public Awareness and Education

The Working Group on Environmental Information, Public Awareness and Education has been the leading ASEAN body in planning the 1995 ASEAN Environment Year (AEY). The Working Group, led by Brunei Darussalam, has produced a press kit for the AEY, which contains a foreword by the ASEAN Secretary-General, posters and information leaflets on the objectives and activities of the AEY. The press kit has been distributed to all Member Countries for further dissemination to the various government offices, NGOs, private sector and academia entities concerned with the environment.