Hello and welcome to the details of South-east Asian ministers commit to eventual elimination of crop burning and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A general view of the Kuala Lumpur city skyline shrouded in haze. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — South-east Asian agriculture and forestry ministers have agreed to take collective action to minimise and eventually eliminate crop burning in the region, amid deteriorating air quality and concern about cross-border haze.
In a statement after a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia, members recognised "the adverse environmental and health impacts of crop burning practices," and committed to collectively reduce and phase it out.
"The meeting recognised the need for sustainable alternatives to crop burning, including the adoption of innovative and environmentally friendly agricultural practices," it said.
The pledge comes as air quality hit unhealthy levels in several parts of Malaysia in recent days and after weeks of elevated pollution in Indonesia.
Malaysia's environment minister in an interview with Reuters yesterday called on Indonesia and Asean to take action as air quality worsens, blaming it on fires from crop burning in Indonesia.
Almost every dry season, smoke from fires to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations in Indonesia blankets much of the region, bringing risks to public health and worrying tourist operators and airlines. Many of the companies that own these plantations are foreign or foreign-listed.
Jakarta has denied detecting any smoke drifting over its borders into Malaysia.
The Asean meeting agreed to develop and implement educational campaigns and training programmes on sustainable agricultural practices, providing technical guidance on alternative methods for land clearing.
"This will require collective efforts, sustained commitment, and collaboration among (Asean members) farmers, local communities, and relevant stakeholders," it said.
The ministers also agreed to review and update existing regulations and guidelines with the aim of phasing out the use of antimicrobials in food production, they said. — Reuters
These were the details of the news South-east Asian ministers commit to eventual elimination of crop burning for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
