Two documents endorsed at regional gathering in Bangkok

BANGKOK, March 5 (TNA) - Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed on two major documents on regional cooperation against marine debris, set to be finally endorsed by the ASEAN leaders in mid-2019. Thai Natural Resources and Environment Minister General Surasak Karnjanarat told journalists on Tuesday that the two key documents, including the Bangkok declaration against marine debris in ASEAN and the ASEAN framework on action plans against marine debris, were initially approved earlier in the day at the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Marine Debris, being held in the capital during March 4-6. "The Bangkok declaration against marine debris in ASEAN represents an agreement among member countries on their joint management towards the solution to the marine debris in the region, while the ASEAN framework on action plans against marine debris was the outline for member countries to work together to tailor management policies on reducing the marine debris in the region, covering their exchanges in relevant information and technologies, as well as roles and actions against marine debris, including their public-private cooperation initiatives on innovations against marine debris", the Thai minister explained. According to the minister, both of the key documents will be submitted to the ASEAN Summit 2019 in June for the final approval by the leaders of the 10-member bloc. The Thai minister stated, meanwhile, that not only ASEAN, but also other regions worldwide have faced the same problem of the movement of wastes from land to coastal areas and the sea, considerably affecting and damaging their marine resources and ecological systems, as well as their tourism sector and national economies. According to the minister, the three-day Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Marine Debris is aimed to enhance cooperation among ASEAN member countries on the management of regional marine debris in a clearer and more concrete aspects and on the conservation of regional marine environment on the sustainable basis. (TNA)