Bandar Seri Begawan - The two-day 22nd Meeting of Asean Senior Officials on Environment Haze Technical Tasks Force began yesterday at Orchid Garden Hotel.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and representatives from the Asean Secretariat and international organisations.

The Brunei delegation was led by Permanent Secretary (Technical and Professional) at the Ministry of Development, Awang Haji Mohamad Said bin Pehin Dato Haji Hashim, who also chaired the meeting.

The meeting aims to intensify cooperation in implementing measures to enforce, prevent, monitor and mitigate haze pollution by ways of controlling sources of land and forest fires, establishing early warning systems, exchanging information and technology, and to provide mutual assistance amongst Asean countries.

Issues discussed included reviewing ongoing and new proposed activities and measures to address transboundary haze pollution, reviewing fire and haze occurrences and forecast of meteorological conditions, report on land and forest fire, the haze situation and actions taken.

Other topics were the implementation of a regional haze action plan and the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, regional response for land and forest fire and transboundary haze, the establishment of subregional firefighting arrangements for other areas in the region, as well as the Asean peatland management strategy. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin