ASEAN environment execs to meet in Cebu

As a prelude to the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in December, environment ministers from ASEAN will meet in Cebu next week to discuss regional issues concerning the environment.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced that 10 ASEAN environment ministers would attend the meeting together with their counterparts from Japan, China and South Korea. But the venue of the event, which will be held from November 9 to 11, is not yet determined.

In a press release, DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said preparations are now in full swing for the holding of the 10th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment in Cebu.

He said that the ministerial meeting is a prelude to the December ASEAN Summit to be hosted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and attended by heads of states from ASEAN and other dialogue-partner countries.

Reyes explained that the ministerial meeting would be critical in view of the forest fires raging in Indonesia and the resulting haze that has blanketed Singapore and some areas in Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei.

In Indonesia's Central Kalimantan on Borneo Island alone, the forest fire covers about one million hectares of land. Joint cooperation measures necessary to address the problem will be tackled during the meeting, Reyes said.

Reyes added that up for discussion during the meeting is the creation of a Ministerial Steering Committee, which will oversee the implementation of the plans that will tackle the haze problem. The committee will be composed of high-ranking officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam.

The ministerial meeting will also discuss joint cooperation among ASEAN countries in the areas of biodiversity, water, coastal and marine resources, and multilateral environmental agreements.

President Arroyo recently signed an agreement with other ASEAN countries for the establishment of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity to be set up in Los Baños, Laguna.

Reyes said the decision to locate the ACB in the Philippines is in recognition of the country's rich marine resources.

The lofty position of the Philippines as a mega diverse country was strengthened recently following the disclosure of international marine scientists that the Verde Passage, located between Batangas and Mindoro, contains about 1,736 species, making it the largest concentration of marine life in the world.

With such huge concentration of marine species in a small area, the marine scientists described the Philippines as "the center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity in the world." - Wenna A. Berondo/LPM