Thailand
Myanmar: Nine sectors asked to submit EMPs within a year
FACTORIES in nine sectors including food and beverage, textile and distilleries are required to submit environmental management plans within a year, said an official who cited a decision from a national committee.
Daw Khin Thida Tin, director of the environmental conservation department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, said this month that nine sectors are now obliged to undertake Environmental Management Plans (EMP) before the deadlines.
On August 21, the National Environment and Climate Change Committee issued a new requirement under which all factories in the nine sectors must conduct and submit EMPs within a specific timeframe.
Distilleries, textile dyeing and printing, leather work, pulp and paper mills as well as sugar refinery business all have 12 months.
Food and beverages, pesticide production (including mixing and packaging), cement, smelting and moulding business (metal work) have nine months.
The department director made the comments during a presentation on “Law, Rules and Procedures related to environmental conservation” in Best Western Great Hill hotel in Yangon on November 8.
According to the workshop, there are 30,000 factories registered with the Ministry of Industry of which 26,000 were food and beverages. That means the department has to manage 26,000 EMPs alone for the sector.
Inna Lazareva, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consultant at E Guard Environmental Services, told The Myanmar Times that introducing the requirement is a positive development and it is what is required in the EIA Procedures.
“EMPs are supposed to reduce pollution and mitigate negative impacts on communities as well as to improve the health and safety of factory workers and residents,” she said.
But the consultant cautioned against rushing to finish off the requirement prematurely for the sake of satisfying the instruction by compromising the quality.
The hope is just that the factories will not rush to do EMPs quickly and cheaply and that the factory management understands the purpose of EMPs and will not compromise on its quality and follow the EMP recommendations.
– Inna Lazareva, E Guard Environmental Services
“It is also important for the relevant authoritie to monitor how these EMPs are eventually implemented,” she added.
Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/nine-sectors-asked-submit-emps-within-year.html