Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha (Source: VNA)Environment ministers from the ASEAN member states reviewed their cooperation in environment sustainability within the framework of the Comprehensive Plan for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) during their 13 th meeting in Hanoi from October 26-30.
Chairing a press conference on October 29, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said during the four-day event, a series of related meetings were also held, including the sixth meeting of the technical working group on trans-boundary haze pollution in the Mekong Sub-region, the 11 th meeting of Conference of Parties to Haze Agreement (COP 11), and the 14 th ASEAN+3 ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment.
Participants discussed new initiatives to further strengthen regional cooperation in the environment.
They spoke highly of Vietnam’s initiative on building a Declaration on the 2015-post ASEAN Agenda for Environment Sustainability and Climate Change for submission to the 27 th ASEAN Summit for approval.
About the post-2015 Vision, the ministers approved the ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on Environment Cooperation, a roadmap for a haze-free ASEAN, the fifth report on ASEAN environment, the ASEAN-United Nations agenda on environment and climate change beyond 2015.
They also approved the nomination of the Philippines’ Timpoong Hibok-Hibok national park and Indonesia’s Way Kambas national park as the 36 th and 37 th ASEAN heritage gardens.
The ministers adopted a monitoring framework for ASEAN integrated water resources management, and hoped for successful negotiations on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change during a conference in Paris from November 30 – December 11.
Meanwhile, the 14 th ASEAN+3 Environment Ministerial Meeting on October 29 discussed cooperation in the fields of biodiversity, climate change, environment education, environment science and technology, and an environmentally sustainable city initiative.
The 14 th meeting of this kind is slated for 2017 in Brunei.-VNA
