Asian countries pledge to tackle health problems linked to environment

International Herald Tribune, via AP: Fourteen Asian countries pledged Thursday to tackle health problems related to everything from climate change to air pollution that cause the deaths of nearly 7 million people each year.

The Southeast and East Asian countries — including economic giants Japan and China but also impoverished nations like Laos — agreed to improve coordination between the ministries of health and environment, and work to establish national frameworks to fight environmental health problems.

"We needed political will and we got that today," said Supat Wangwongwatana, director general of Thailand's Pollution Control Department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. "Fourteen countries committed to cooperate and work to combat environmental problems and improve the health of the people," he said. "That's an achievement."

No money, however, was committed during the two-day meeting — dubbed the Bangkok Declaration on Environment and Health — nor did the countries set any specific goals.

…The ministers said environment and health problems had previously been tackled separately by most countries, but with Thursday's declaration they hoped that would now change. "Since the capacities of countries in the region to deal with environmental problems are limited, we need to have better intersectoral coordination," said Vallop Thainuea, an official from Thailand's Ministry of Public Health.