Thai-Laos-Myanmar join forces to solve transboundary haze

Government House, April 7-Prime Minister discusses with Laos-Myanmar to jointly solve the problem of transboundary smog pollution set goals-outcomes for benefit and the well-being of the people of three countries

General Prayut Chan-ocha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Attended the trilateral meeting between the Kingdom of Thailand, Mr. Sonsay Siphandon, Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. and Senior General Min Aung Laing, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar On managing the problem of transboundary haze pollution via video conference system, with Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Saran Charoensuwan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Pornpimol Kanchanalak, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Talengsak Petchsuwan, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Mr. Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Pollution Control Department, attended the meeting.

Prime Minister, thank you for this joint meeting. to exchange information and Experience dealing with transboundary haze pollution and jointly seek constructive and concrete ways to deal with the situation. The problem of transboundary smog pollution affecting the health and well-being of the people of the three countries. Thailand recognizes the problem of transboundary haze and PM 2.5 dust as an urgent problem. When considering the cause, it can be divided into 2 cases: 1. Smog problems in the Mekong sub-region / Northern ASEAN (Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam), which occurs in the dry season of every country. Year (January-April) 2. The haze problem in the southern part of ASEAN (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) occurs during July-September of every year.

“Nowadays, the problem of transboundary haze pollution is so serious that it has become a serious public health problem. and affect tourism affects the income of the country The Thai government has announced that solving the problem of dust pollution is a national agenda. Every year, Thailand organizes a meeting to learn lessons on preventing and solving forest fires, smog and dust problems. and formulating a special plan to solve the problem of dust pollution By strengthening the strictness in three areas, including urban areas, such as paying attention to sources of pollution from traffic and industrial plants. and agricultural areas, agricultural areas such as the promotion of stop burning materials and agricultural areas and forest areas such as forest fire control public education and extinguishing forest fires, etc., ”said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister said that Thailand has prepared long-term measures for 2024-2027 as a solution to pollution problems. at the bilateral level Thailand has always cooperated with friendly countries. The PM 2.5 measuring device was delivered to the Myanmar side in Taunggyi. and Tachileik in September 2022 already And air quality monitoring stations that Thailand supports for Laos and Myanmar have helped to monitor air quality and analyze weather data in each country as well. by regional Thailand supports ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and Chiang Rai Action Plan 2017. In 2022, Thailand was able to reduce the accumulated heat spots in the northern region from 2021 by 61% and the average PM 2.5 was reduced by 27%.

“At the sub-regional level According to the Chiang Rai action plan Able to reduce heat points from 139,098 points in 2021 to 108,916 in 2022 and report data on the situation of hot spots and Thai operations. to the ASEAN Secretariat continuously. And on February 27, 2023, Thailand sent a letter to the ASEAN Secretariat. to ask the Mekong Basin Member States to unite in solving the problem of transboundary haze pollution in the region, asking the three countries to strengthen cooperation Including cooperation with ASEAN countries in solving pollution problems from transboundary haze efficiently and sustainably as follows: 1. Follow the goal of reducing heat spots according to the Chiang Rai Action Plan. to control pollution in the Greater Mekong Sub-region Set up an early warning system and promote the efficiency of extinguishing fires. Sustainable Forest Management Including the development of officials' abilities, ”said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister said 2. Take advantage of the mechanism at all levels. at the bilateral level Thailand will propose to promote cooperation on transboundary haze pollution. Through the mechanism of the border committee at the provincial level at the ASEAN level Thailand will propose at the 42nd ASEAN Summit for the ASEAN Leaders to consider ordering. Accelerate solving the aforementioned problems to be tangible in every aspect. 3. Exchange information and experiences. Including legal guidelines for each country to control the root cause of the problem, including increasing assistance to farmers in waste management services. by turning it into energy For example, BCG power plants turn waste into fertilizer, electricity and diesel fuel for the people. Building a small community-based biogas plant According to the initiative of His Majesty the King Rama IX and the processing of agricultural residues into income materials

The Prime Minister said he supported cooperation between air quality index measurement networks of countries in the sub-region to increase forecasting efficiency. and alerts, as well as submitting it to the senior officials of each country responsible for managing transboundary haze pollution. Let's discuss this afternoon. build on the results of this discussion. Consider ways to cope. and concrete action It is believed that today's discussion is the expectation of the people, will solve problems, set results and goals effectively. To reduce the number of hot spots as much as possible for the people of the three countries.

Mr. Pinsak Suraswadi, Director General of the Pollution Control Department as a senior officer Working groups under the environment ministers of five countries discussed the situation of transboundary haze pollution. As a result of the dry weather conditions in the Mekong sub-region from January to April 2023, there has been an increase in the number of hot spots from open burning. And there is a problem of transboundary haze. The ASEAN Secretariat has warned the problem level is the highest level (Level 3). Republic of the Union of Myanmar And the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 2023, an increase of 93 percent from 2022, which is a comparison during the same period. Between January 1 and April 5

The Prime Minister of the Lao PDR praised the Thai Prime Minister for initiating the meeting today. Laos agrees that cooperation is needed to find a common solution. and agreed with cooperation at the ASEAN level and raising awareness increase understanding for the public to understand the cause and the problem of transboundary haze pollution

Myanmar's prime minister said he agreed to increase cooperation to control joint management Myanmar will take stronger steps to promote sustainable development in the region. and believes that close cooperation will benefit all countries. and results for the benefit of the region.-Thai News Agency

Source: Thai News Agency