Vietnam is hosting the 13th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME-13), which kicked off in Hanoi on Monday, focusing on creating a green and clean ASEAN community.

The AMME-13 and other related meetings, which will last until Friday, are of significant importance as the formation of the ASEAN community is drawing near, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

On the sidelines of the AMME-13, other meetings such as the AMME+3 and East Asia Summit-AMME meetings will be held to strengthen cooperation in the field between ASEAN and its partners.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has built the ASEAN Vision beyond 2015, which defines the goal for a green and clean ASEAN community with adequate mechanisms serving sustainable development in order to ensure environmental protection in the region, the sustainability of natural resources and high life quality of each citizen. 

ASEAN environment ministers have adopted an ASEAN action plan on environmental education for the 2014-18 period with a view to promoting sustainable development via education and increasing public engagement in environmental issues.

An ASEAN Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC) has also been set up with financial support from the European Union.

The center is tasked with stepping up regional cooperation while serving as the coordinator for connectivity among the related agencies of ASEAN member states and EU partners.

In addition, the bloc is executing a working plan to carry out the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

The environment ministers have agreed to submit a proposal on a Haze Supervision Mechanism to ASEAN leaders for approval.

The AMME is held every three years on a rotary basis among ASEAN countries to devise the bloc’s strategy and policies on cooperation in environment-related issues.

The first AMME was organized in the Philippines on April 30, 1981.

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