Hanoi (VNA) – Thailand, Myanmar and Laos on October 30 officially launched a joint plan of action on tackling transboundary haze, which aims to strengthen their cooperation to reduce existing regional air pollution.
Under the CLEAR Sky Strategy 2024-2030, the three Southeast Asian countries agreed to take concrete action, including collaboration on fire control, hotspot reduction, forecasting and monitoring systems, sustainable agricultural management, and law enforcement as well as inter-agency coordination.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said the joint efforts were born out of necessity and urgency in addressing the rising PM2.5 levels in the region's air, which stem from several sources, including industry, transport and in particular forest fires and agricultural burning.
Maris said the three nations have worked together in developing a fire risk map and capacity building at the bilateral level while undertaking cooperation programmes through frameworks such as the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy at the sub-regional level.
In April 2023, Thailand held an online meeting with Laos and Myanmar to discuss measures to address the increasing haze situation in the three countries./.
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