Thailand and Cambodia will form a joint task force to fight transboundary haze pollution at a planned meeting between Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet in Thailand on Feb 7.
A joint study tour to an area heavily affected by transboundary pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) would also be arranged for the two leaders in Sa Kaeo province during Hun Manet's visit to Thailand, Mr Srettha said on Friday.
The PM2.5 pollution in Thailand's border provinces normally results from wildfires, and this requires cooperation from neighbouring countries to be dealt with effectively, he said.
Satellite images supplied by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda) could then be used as the key input in the joint task force's planning of responses to hotspots left by a wildfire, he said.
Continuous information exchange between the two countries through a future joint task force would be treated as an important element in Thai-Cambodian efforts to fight transboundary haze pollution, said Mr Srettha.
The right to clean air is something to which this government is paying a great deal of attention, in addition to tourism-based economic stimulation, said Mr Srettha, adding that the right to clean air should, therefore, be made a basic right of all people living in this country.
The Clean Air bill has already made its way into parliament, he said.
All seven versions of the bill proposed by civic groups and political parties now are pending the vote in the bill's first reading in the House of Representatives -- expected to be completed next week, said an informed source.
Treated as an urgent matter, the Clean Air bill was deliberated in the House on Thursday when debate on the draft law dragged on endlessly, and the first reading's vote on the bill had to be deferred to next week, said the same source.
The bill is aimed at equipping organisations -- both at the national and area levels -- with more effective administrative tools to prevent emissions of hazardous PM2.5 dust particles, fumes and other forms of pollutants into the air, said Deputy Prime Minister and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan.
The bill will also bring about several other mechanisms for tackling haze pollution, including more international cooperation to curb biomass burning in the agricultural sector, the cutting of traffic emissions and improving work integration among all state agencies concerned, he said.