09 March
The Union Government will release the National Environmental Policy, 2030 Strategy and Master Plan soon, said Vice President U Myint Swe, Patron of the National Level Environmental Conservation and Climate Change Central Committee.
He made the comment at the 7th coordination meeting of the central committee at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
The Vice President expressed thanks to the members of the central committee, ministries, Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, region and state-level officials and international organizations which provided the committee with technical and financial assistance for drafting the policy, strategy and master plan.
The Vice President said that Myanmar needed a strategy to conserve the environment and to fight the impacts of climate change on the country’s coastal areas and arid zones which were relying on fisheries, agriculture and livestock breeding while the country was relying on its natural resources for the socio-economic development.
The National Environmental Policy would ensure sustainable development, prosperity and a community which could endure climate change and reduce carbon emission leading to prosperity of the current and next generations, he said.
While uplifting the socio-economic development, Myanmar has been promoting local and foreign investment and expanding the industrial zones, he said. The situation demanded the country to lay down a strong “environmental management system’ to prevent degradation of the ecosystem and environmental damages.
As the national-level central committee, six work committees, 15 committees representing the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area and region/state level supervisory committees, 46 district-level committees, 152 township-level committees and the policy, strategy and the master plan have been drawn, and the country was ready to carry out the tasks in respective sectors, he said.
He urged the officials of the respective committees to build links with international bodies in attempts to seek funds and assistance for the works of the committees.
The central committed laid down a total 84 resolutions in the previous six meetings, and so far 42 have been implemented and 42 remained as they need to be implemented in the long-run.
The tasks being carried out based on the resolutions of the meetings include disposal of waste materials, arrangements for giving awards for environmental friendly urban development, establishing wastewater treatment plants at the distilleries, garbage system, prevention illegal mining causing environmental degradation, raising environmental awareness and information.
“To disseminate knowledge on environmental conservation and climate change, coordination was being carried out to include the environmental conservation in the curriculum from the primary level and to the higher education level,” he said.
The Vice President also urged the participants of the meeting to set a time frame for implementing remaining resolutions and to complete them in a timely manner.
He also stressed the need to speed up the educative awareness as part of efforts for helping the people to change their behaviors and life style which could encourage sustainable production and consumption.
He continued to say that necessary measures should be taken to enforce the rules and regulations and procedures related with environmental conservation.
To promote the human resources including experts and techniques related with the environment and to acquire funds, efforts should be made to build more links with international organizations, and ministries, Nay Pyi Taw Council Area and region, state governments, NGOs and social organizations.
He said more efforts were needed to strengthen their cooperation and coordination. Afterwards, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Dr. Ye Myint Swe reported on implementation of the tasks included in the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan-MSDP, approaches to the environmental conservation, budget allocations, raising environmental awareness and human resource development.
Afterwards, U Maung Hla Thein, Secretary of the central committee and Director-General of the Environmental Conservation Department, reported on progress on implementation of resolutions made at the previous meetings and measures being undertaken, combination of environmental conservation and climate change plans, progress of works carried out by six work committees and future plans.
Afterwards, members of the central committee and officials from six work committees, chairmen of the region/state environmental and climate change supervisory committees reported on implementation and future works for environmental conservation, challenges, law enforcement, conservation of cultural heritage without damaging the environment and other sectors.
The meeting made 10 resolutions and came to an end with concluding remarks by the Vice President.—MNA
