26 September 2005 – Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Susan O. Castrence announced that the Philippines will host a series of meetings of Environment Ministers of member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan and the Republic of Korea from 26 – 28 September 2005 to improve cooperation in managing natural resources within the ASEAN region.

Assistant Secretary Castrence said the gathering specifically “seeks to provide a forum for ASEAN member-countries to discuss a wide range of regional and international issues to bring about better understanding of each member-country’s position, crucial for the development of common stands on environmental concerns.”

The Assistant Secretary added that the delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with those from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, “are expected to hammer out collective positions on key issues that include nature conservation and biodiversity, water resources management and other possible areas of partnership.”

Correspondingly, the ministers would endeavor to find ways to deal with transboundary haze pollution, develop regional early warning and response systems and competence-boosting measures.

Assistant Secretary Castrence said that the series of meetings include the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment Meeting on 26 September, the 9th Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (IAMME) on 27 September, and the ASEAN + 3 Environment Ministers Meeting on 28 September 2005.

The Assistant Secretary further reported that “the ministers will also discuss and review the regional initiatives on environmentally sustainable cities, the ASEAN environmental fund, the Philippines-led socio-cultural community plan of action and action program for 2004 – 2010, and the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, which will be located at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna.”  END
 

 /bjg