ASEAN development must be green

ASEAN development must be green

SINGAPORE (AFP): Industrial and economic development in
Southeast Asia should not be carried out at the expense of the
environment, Singapore's Speaker of Parliament Tan Soo Khoon said
on Thursday.

He told a parliamentary ASEAN forum that development must be
implemented hand-in-hand with environmental protection.

"The economic and industrial developments must not be carried
out at the expense of the environment," said Tan, who is also the
president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization which
opened a two-day meeting here.

"Effective environmental pollution control and management
programs must be implemented in tandem with economic and
industrial growth to ensure that the health of the 500 million
people in ASEAN region is safeguarded and the environment
protected," he said.