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SINGAPORE: Outgoing ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said ASEAN needs a specialised institution to deal with environmental concerns and to fight climate change in the region.
The 10 member countries signed on Wednesday a declaration to reduce energy use and extend forested areas in ASEAN.
Mr Ong was speaking on Thursday at an environment conference organised by the European Union on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Summit.
He told participants that ASEAN currently has a fixed mechanism to handle the haze issue.
Environment ministers meet regularly with individual countries to follow up on action plans, and he hopes to see this translated into a format to combat climate change.
Mr Ong said: "We need to have adequate personnel in an institutionalised environment, where year-to-year things change, but the basic policy pursued will be in accordant with the plan laid down. So it may be necessary for our leaders to think through how we should do more in this respect."
He added that the other challenge in ASEAN's green efforts is the rapid migration of people from the villages to ASEAN cities to seek a better life.
According to Mr Ong, ASEAN cities like Jakarta see an average of 3 percent growth in population from rural-urban transmigration alone each year.
He said this persisting trend can hollow out the countryside and affect farming. To counter this, he said ASEAN can look into further developing a profitable cottage industry for farmers and handicraft makers.
Countries like Laos, the Philippines and Thailand are already doing this. Mr Ong said this industry can be made more lucrative with a more integrated ASEAN.
He said: "Now, multiple agencies and sectors can cross each other and be coordinated. In the old days, we have trade and economic ministers doing what we call the trade agenda; cultural heritage ministries doing heritage, and agriculture doing their own agriculture thing, so now we're all integrated.
"I think we have a chance to develop this and make it quite a good, positive strategy. At least we should try to reduce the inflow of rural population into the urbanised area."
- CNA/so
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