Vietnam commits broader role in ASEAN environment protection 2021

Vietnam said it will engage in activities pushing up environmental protection in ASEAN, mostly through the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC).

 Vietnam pledges to engage more in ASEAN joint efforts in environment protection. Photo: Wason Wanichakorn/ Greenpeace

Vietnam will promote information and data sharing while performing the role of the host country of the 11th AWGCC Meeting, the 5th ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City (ESC) Award, the 4th ceremony to award the potential ESC certificate, according to the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN)’s office in Vietnam (ASOEN Vietnam Office).

To proactively participate in regional action plans, Vietnam has intensified cooperation with Japan and other ASEAN member states in implementing the ASEAN-Japan cooperation project on environment, climate change and marine waste, while maintaining partnership with South Korea and other partners to carry out projects on climate change, Vietnam News Agency reported.

It has also cooperated with partner countries and organizations namely Norway, Germany, the European Union (EU), and the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

Active member in 2020

As a responsible member of the ASEAN Community, Vietnam demonstrated its efforts to fulfill regional integration process in terms of natural resources and environment protection with a focus on mainly marine plastic debris, marine and coastal environmental problems.

Vietnam strongly supports the building of an ASEAN action plan on marine plastic waste prevention, said Nguyen Que Lam, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands and head of the ASEAN Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment (AWGCME).

Vietnam’s high biodiversity has contributed to ensuring food security and livelihood, maintaining genetic flora and fauna resources, supplying pharmaceutical sources, and forming natural landscapes.

It has also joined international treaties on biodiversity such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

At the 31st Meeting of ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN 31) and related meetings in November 2020, the Vietnamese delegation demonstrated important issues and strengthened bilateral and multilateral relations within ASEAN and ASEAN+3.