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ASEAN PEATLAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

The ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy (APMS) guides actions to support management of peatlands in the region in the period of 2006-2020. The APMS was prepared due to the pressing need for wise use and sustainable management of peatlands as well as the emerging threat of peatland fire and its associated haze to the economy and health of the region, and its possibility of contributing to global climate change. The APMS was developed within the framework of the ASEAN Peatland Management Initiative (APMI) and the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

The development of APMS was one of the items in the initial work plan (2003-2005) of the APMI. Subsequently, each ASEAN Member Country was requested to provide background information and country papers and presented them to the First Regional Workshop on the APMI (October 2003). The workshop agreed on the outline of the strategy as well as the process required for the development of the strategy. ASEAN Secretariat with the assistance of the Global Environment Centre (GEC) then developed the outline into a full regional strategy, taking into account the discussions in the regional workshop, country papers, statements and recommendations from relevant workshops and conferences on peatlands, and inputs and comments gathered from ASEAN Member Countries, APMI partners and supporters.

The first draft of the regional strategy was circulated by the ASEAN Secretariat in July 2004. ASEAN Member Countries were requested to conduct their respective national consultations to provide inputs to the draft strategy. National consultations on the first draft of the regional strategy were held during the period of July 2004 to May 2005. Some Member Countries, i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam, conducted national consultative meetings, while some others provided their comments gathered through consultations with relevant agencies. The Second Regional Workshop on the APMI was held at the end of May 2005 to consolidate results of the national consultations and finalise the draft regional strategy.

The strategy primarily focuses on the following 4 objectives:

Enhance Awareness and Knowledge on Peatlands;
Address Transboundary Haze Pollution and Environmental Degradation;
Promote Sustainable Management of Peatlands;
Enhance and Promote Collective Regional Cooperation on Peatland Issues.

The strategy sets out operational objectives that would contribute to the delivery of one or more of the areas above to serve as guidance for ASEAN Member Countries and other implementing bodies and collaborating partners through specific actions and timeframe for these actions. The strategy can also play a greater role to provide the formal cooperation among ASEAN Member Countries to solve peat-related problems in the region.

ASEAN Member Countries will be responsible to facilitate the implementation of the strategy at national level and to help ensure that the general and operational objectives are met. This would be done through the development of National Action Plans (NAPs) to be developed through additional national consultative meetings in ASEAN Member Countries.

The APMS was endorsed by the ASEAN Environment Ministers in November 2006. For more information regarding the APMI or the APMS, please contact haze@aseansec.org.