ASEAN 'must be built on green principles'

ASEAN 'must be built on green principles'

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
Thursday.

He told a parliamentary forum of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) 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.

ASEAN delegates from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are
expected to compare notes on legislative policies regarding
hazardous waste control during the conference.

Myanmar, ASEAN's 10th member, did not send any delegates.
Tan urged the delegates to focus on legislation that will
encourage recycling and reusing waste materials as well as import
controls to prevent illegal dumping.

The delegates are also due to discuss measures to ensure
proper storage, transport, treatment and disposal of waste as
well as training for personnel handling toxic materials.

At least 135 people were killed when a monstrous garbage dump
outside the Philippine capital, Manila, collapsed onto a shanty
town during heavy rains earlier this week, highlighting the need
for effective waste disposal.

Last year, Manila protested against Japan for exporting toxic
waste to the Philippines.