Vietnam has affirmed its commitment to engage all necessary resources for the sustainable forest management, forest protection and development.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi made the statement at the fourth conference of the Standing Committee of ASEAN Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution, held in Hanoi on June 4.

Although facing difficulties in the global economic downturn, forest fire management is Vietnam ’s top concern, said Nhi.

The deputy minister said in opening the conference that the participants would discuss, make proposals and reach consensus on the contents of regional cooperation to act together for a clean environment and further sustainable development of the ASEAN community.

Since the ASEAN Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution was approved in 2002, ASEAN countries have joined in emergency activities to reduce trans-boundary haze pollution caused by forest fires.

The Vietnamese Government has taken different measures such as applying remote sensing technology to control and reduce forest fires to raise forest coverage. The country has also actively involved in international foreign management activities to cope with abnormal weather conditions.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s statistics, Vietnam now has more than 13 million of hectares of forest and its forest coverage reached around 38 percent./.