Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The 36th Meeting of ASEAN Senior Officials on Environment (ASOEN 36) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 30 with the participation of ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners, aiming to strengthen cooperation on environmental and climate change issues.
The meeting featured three key dialogue sessions - the 19th ASEAN-Japan Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation, the 5th ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change, and the ASEAN-European Union (EU) High-Level Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change.
According to a statement from Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), the dialogues served as strategic platforms to enhance collaboration between ASEAN countries and their partners in addressing pressing environmental and climate-related challenges.
Discussions focused notably on the implementation progress of the ASEAN Strategic Programme on Environment and Climate (SPACE), a regional initiative designed to address three critical environmental issues: climate change, pollution control, and biodiversity conservation.
Several initiatives and programmes were identified to support the rollout of SPACE in pursuit of sustainable development across the region such as the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (RKC-MPD) and the ASEAN Climate Change Strategic Action Plan (ACCSAP).
The NRES noted that delegates underlined efforts to combat marine litter through the implementation of joint activities under the Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP-MALI). This action plan reflects ASEAN’s strong commitment to strengthening integrated marine waste management at the regional level.
Malaysia hopes that this cooperation will continue in areas such as capacity building, technical development, and information sharing platforms to address climate change, waste management, environmental education, sustainable urban development, plastic pollution, and biodiversity conservation, the statement added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises 10 member nations, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam./.
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