10th ASEAN ministerial meet on environment starts today

The 10th Ministerial Meeting on Environment will formally start today with more than 50 delegates from the 10 ASEAN member nations, plus their counterparts from Japan, Korea and China in attendance.

As early as November 7, participants already started arriving to prepare for the event, which would run until tomorrow, November 11, to be held at the Shangri-La Mactan Hotel and Resort in Lapu-Lapu City.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes expressed optimism that the ASEAN spirit of cooperation will prevail in finding ways to solve the recurring haze problem affecting the region.

"We hope to arrive at a clear understanding and agreements on binding measures during top-level meeting of environment officials this week," Reyes said in a press release.

Aside from transboundary haze pollution, the ASEAN environment ministers will also tackle nature conservation and biodiversity, coastal and marine environment, water resources management, multilateral environment agreement, and environmentally sustainable cities.

During the meeting, the Philippines is expected to endorse an initiative on transboundary environmental law enforcement network. "We consider this as crucial in dealing with the raging haze problem," Reyes noted.

According to DENR, haze is an atmospheric phenomenon where a mix of dust, smoke and other pollutant particles obscure the normal sky. It occurs usually when the dust and smoke particles accumulate in a relatively dry air. When the weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants, they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat.

DENR said haze becomes a regular problem in Southeast Asia due to forest fires in Indonesia, specifically Sumatra and Kalimantan. The worst bout of haze in the ASEAN region occurred in 1997, causing damage to agriculture, forests, health, transportation, tourism and other economic activities. - Wenna A. Berondo/MEEV