Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing agree to strengthen cooperation over environmental damage from disasters

BUSAN, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, Japan and China agreed to enhance cooperation in tackling environmental damage caused by natural disasters during a meeting of their environment ministers here in Busan on Friday.
Environment ministers Lee Maan-ee of South Korea and Zhou Shengxian of China and Japan's Vice Environment Minister Shoichi Kondo adopted a joint statement vowing to reinforce their countries' collaboration in handling environmental problems caused by such natural disasters as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
It marks the first such agreement among the three East Asian countries since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan.
The top officials also agreed to increase cooperation over regional and global environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity and yellow dust, in the statement adopted at the end of the 13th Korea-China-Japan environment ministers' talks.
During the two-day meeting, the officials discussed ways to deal with environmental problems in a cooperative way and shared information about their environment policies.
Particularly, Lee and Zhou emphasized the need to share information among the three neighbors to prevent environmental damage from natural disasters.
Lee introduced Seoul's green energy policies, including the government-led low-carbon green growth programs, river refurbishment project and living environment enhancement policies.
China explained achievements from its five-year program (2005-2011) to manage environmental pollution and the reduction target of greenhouse gas emissions in another five-year plan announced in February.
Japan described the extent of the damage caused by last month's quake and tsunami and its countermeasures against the unprecedented natural disaster.
For years, the detection and prevention of pollutant-riddled yellow dust have been a common and major interest among the three nations. Sandstorms in northern China usually occur between late winter and spring, and can carry sand eastward by the airstream as far as the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the North Pacific, causing serious air pollution.
The three countries have held the tripartite talks on environmental issues every year since 1999. Next year's meeting is scheduled in China.
brk@yna.co.kr