Environment Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met on 13 October in Singapore to assess and reinforce cooperation on regional environmental issues.

These Southeast Asian Ministers also met with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea on 14 October to further enhance environmental cooperation with the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation mechanism.
During the meeting, ASEAN Ministers approved an agreement to establish the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, and endorsed the setting up of the ASEAN Environment Fund, agreeing to explore modalities for establishing the Fund. The Fund will support existing projects and initiate new ones with a focus on education programmes in poor rural areas. According to the press, ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said member nations planned to establish the fund by the end of 2004, and that it could be worth up to US$10 million.
Ministers also addressed the implementation of a regional agreement on transboundary haze pollution, which came into force in November 2003, stressing the importance of enhancing preventive measures such as surveillance, monitoring and enforcement. Such pollution and haze have been caused by open burning and forest clearing, particularly in Indonesia, which has not yet ratified the agreement. During the session, Ministers also discussed challenges to environmental sustainability, considered proposals to promote environmentally sustainable cities in the region, and exchanged experiences in developing standards to monitor environmental performance.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Links to further information
ASEAN press release, 14 October 2004
Southeast Asian Nations to set up Environment Fund; Indonesia under Pressure to Ratify Antihaze Deal, ENN, 15 October 2004
3rd ASEAN Plus 3 environment ministers meeting ends, Xinhuanet, 14 October 2004