Illustration. (Photo: Getty Images)Under the Chair of Dato Sri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man,Minister for Environment and Water of Malaysia, the event brought togetherMinisters/representatives responsible for the environment, for land, forestfires and haze, from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, andthe Secretary-General of ASEAN.
The meeting looked forward to the convening of the 17thMeeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on TransboundaryHaze Pollution (COP-17) this October in Singapore.
It expressed appreciation and commended the variousinitiatives and actions by MSC countries on the implementation of the StrategicReview of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee Programmes andActivities; and underscored the coordinated support of ASEAN SpecialisedMeteorological Centres (ASMC) and relevant agencies in providing data andinformation relating to land and /or forest fires for ASEAN and ASEAN MemberStates.
The meeting supported the outcomes of the Final Review ofthe Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Controlwith Means of Implementation that has allowed ASEAN Member States to take stockof the progress and sustain the momentum in ensuring demonstrable improvementsto achieve the vision of a haze-free ASEAN through the recommendations of arenewed Roadmap for ASEAN.
It looked forward to further strengthening commitment andcooperation through the adoption of the new Roadmap and new ASEAN PeatlandManagement Strategy at the upcoming COP-17 to comprehensively address the rootcauses of transboundary haze pollution, and to augment the assessment,prevention, mitigation and management of land and/or forest fires throughconcerted national efforts and intensified regional and internationalcooperation.
It also stressed the need to pursue the finalisation of theEstablishment Agreement and Host Country Agreement of the ASEAN CoordinatingCentre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) in Indonesia.
It valued the cooperation and support from ASEAN’s externalpartners to promote sustainable management of peatlands in the ASEAN region;and emphasised that strong support is needed from the MSC countries andrelevant agencies for the successful implementation of the activities of abovesaid programmes./.
VNA
