Vietnam backs building of global treaty on plastic pollution

Upon addressing a workshop held in Hanoi to look into regional co-operation towards a global treaty on plastic pollution, Truong Tri Duc, deputy director of the Vietnam Agency of Seas and Islands (VASI), also said that the Vietnamese Government always attaches importance to the protection of maritime and insular environment. This is especially with regard to the issues related to marine biodiversity conservation, maritime and coastal environment, plastic waste, and marine plastic pollution.

Furthermore, this is also part of the efforts being made to spur sustainable development of sea-based economic activities, the official told the event that drew representatives from 11 PEMSEA members, as well as non-member countries.

Emphasising the nation’s support for the negotiations on a global treaty on plastic pollution, he added that once adopted, the deal will represent a vivid demonstration of countries’ co-operation in dealing with pollution in general and plastic pollution in particular.

Ramla Khalidi, resident representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, emphasised the core role of co-operation in resolving the worsening plastic pollution.

Highlighting two important aspects of the fight against plastic pollution, she said the first is to recognise, support whilst increasing contributions by informal waste workers to waste management systems and consider how the global treaty could be built basing on these contributions. In line with this, informal workers in ASEAN countries have a crucial role to play in waste management.

Secondly, the realisation of the treaty’s ambitious goals will require sufficient financial sources, especially through innovative financing mechanisms, to ensure efforts are fully supported to make changes in reality, Khalidi went on to say.
Mette Moglestue, deputy head of Mission of the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam, noted that the Norwegian-funded Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) project has created chances for both PEMSEA members and non-member countries to discuss and contribute to the treaty negotiations.

The diplomat noted one important factor is that the parties concerned need to agree upon different measures aimed at handling the entire life cycle of plastics, from production, design to waste management. Another is that the treaty must include legally binding obligations to help effectively minimise plastic pollution.

The EPPIC, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, has invited innovators from across ASEAN to share their breakthrough ideas to deal with plastic pollution. This was launched in Vietnam and Thailand back in 2021 and then expanded to Indonesia and the Philippines in 2022, followed by Laos and Cambodia this year.

At the workshop, participants underscored the importance of joint efforts to combat plastic pollution. A common document was also devised to draft a co-operation strategy for handling this problems, helping with the building of a global treaty on plastic pollution.