Haze Portal

Media Release of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (13th MSC Mekong)

December 4, 2024

Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia

  1. The Thirteenth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (13th MSC Mekong) was held on 4 December 2024 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The Meeting was attended by Permanent Secretary of State and high-level representatives for land, forest fires and haze from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, under the Chairpersonship of H.E. San Vanty, Permanent Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment, Cambodia. The Nineteenth Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region (19th TWG Mekong) preceded the Meeting.
  2. The Meeting noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre’s (ASMC’s) review and outlook of the weather and smoke haze situation in the Mekong sub-region. The Mekong sub-region experienced elevated hotspot and smoke haze situation during its traditional dry season between December 2023 and May 2024 affecting Myanmar and Thailand as well as the northern parts of Lao PDR and Viet Nam on many days. The situation escalated in March 2024 and Alert Level 3 was issued on 6 March 2024. The La Niña conditions are expected to become established in December 2024 and persist until at least early 2025. The Meeting further noted upcoming changes to satellite tools for fires and haze detection in the region and presented on the use of the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) for aerosol observations, as well as the development of burnt area products. The Meeting looked forward to participating in forthcoming ASMC workshops and attachment programme.
  3. The Meeting recalled their ambitious target to join hands together to achieve the hotspot reduction target for the year 2024 at 35% and 2025 at 40% hotspot reduction targets under the new targets of the Chiang Rai 2017 Plan of Action. The Meeting acknowledged that while 2024 hotspot number were well below the agreed baseline hotspot number of 2020, it has yet achieved the proposed new target of 35% reduction. The Meeting agreed in-principle on renewing commitment for hotspot reduction targets up to 2030 and tasked TWG Mekong to discuss the target numbers at the next TWG Mekong Meeting to be held in Lao PDR in 2025. The Meeting acknowledged the complementarity efforts within the sub-region namely the Joint Plan of Action of the Clear Sky Strategy (Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar) and Cambodia’s Blue Sky Strategy.
  4. The Meeting acknowledged the effects of climate change, such as more frequent drought and other extreme weather events, may increase the risk of elevated hotspot activities and transboundary smoke haze occurrence since 2019. As the sub-region is entering the traditional dry season, the Meeting reiterated its commitment to intensifying in-country actions through respective National Action Plans and prioritising fire prevention, early warning, monitoring, and fire suppression to minimise the occurrence of transboundary haze during periods of drier weather.
  5. The Meeting reaffirmed its commitment at the 18th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-18) on 23 August 2023 in Lao PDR and welcomed the adoption of the Second Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation (Haze-free Roadmap) 2023-2030 and the Second ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy (APMS) 2023-2030, as well as the endorsed ASEAN Investment Framework for Haze-free Sustainable Land Management. The Meeting recognised in order to prevent fires and transboundary haze, more emphasis should be placed on transformation of land management practices.
  6. The Meeting commended the successful conclusion of the Establishment Agreement of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) by the COP-18. The Meeting agreed to expedite the signing of the Establishment Agreement of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) to complete the full establishment and operationalisation of the Centre in Indonesia to facilitate faster and effective implementation of the AATHP to address transboundary haze pollution in the region.
  7. The Meeting expressed appreciation to Germany and IFAD for their strong commitment and valuable cooperation to the implementation of the AATHP. The Meeting congratulated the successful completion of the Sustainable Use of Peatland and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA). The Meeting encouraged continued partnerships for the ASEAN Investment Framework for Haze-free Sustainable Land Management, and called upon the support from Dialogue Partners, Sectoral Dialogue Partners, and Development Partners in building stronger cooperation to advance the implementation of the Second Haze-free Roadmap and the Second APMS towards a haze-free ASEAN.
  8. The Meeting looked forward to the convening of the 19th Meeting of the Committee under the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COM-19) and the 19th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-19) on 17-18 December 2024 in Thailand.
  9. The 14th MSC Mekong Meeting will be held in Lao PDR in 2025.

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