The 4th IMT-GT Working Group on Environment (WGE) Meeting was successfully held from 9 to 10 July 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event kicked off with a site visit to the Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), where delegates learned about Malaysia’s Environment Quality Monitoring Programme (EQMP) for air and water quality.
The working group members convened for a full-day meeting on 10 July to discuss and update the progress of various environmental projects under the IMT-GT platform. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Ir. Haruki Agustina, Director of Hazardous Waste and Non-Hazardous Waste-Contaminated Site Remediation and Emergency Response, Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. Key attendees included Mr. P. Jeevananth Paliah, Undersecretary, Strategic Planning and International Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability of Malaysia, and Mrs. Wacharee Chuaysri, Environmentalist, Foreign Affairs Division, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Kingdom of Thailand. The meeting was also attended by representatives from the IMT-GT Joint Business Council (JBC) and IMT-GT University Network (UNINET).
Updates on various environmental projects within the subregion were discussed, among them, the first subregional project for oil spill tarball management in the ocean. This project aims to develop a cooperative framework for detecting, managing, and mitigating oil spill tarballs, which pose significant environmental risks to marine ecosystems. The initiative includes the implementation of advanced monitoring systems, rapid response protocols, and coordinated clean-up efforts to minimize the impact of oil spills.
In addition, representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) participated in the meeting and presented the draft Joint BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT Blue Economy Strategy (BES) 2030, in which the WGE provided inputs to ensure the success of this Strategy. The Meeting also discussed the Mid Term Review of the Implementation Blueprint 2022-2026 which is currently being undertaken, to review and take stock of the action plans conducted by the WGE so far.
The Meeting concluded with a dinner hosted by the Honourable Dato’ Dr. Ching Thoo Kim, Secretary General, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability of Malaysia. The IMT-GT WGE members look forward to further strengthening subregional cooperation in tackling climate change and addressing environmental issues and concerns.
#IMTGT #indonesia #malaysia #thailand #growth #triangle #subregional #cooperation #environment #sustainability #ASEAN
