Government’s the efforts on environmental management plans (EMP) making progress

Many businesses that have been instructed by the government to submit environmental management plans (EMP) have already done so, says a senior official of the Environmental Conservation Department.

U Min Maw, deputy director general of the Environmental Conservation Department, which falls under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC), tells Myanmar Times that most of the businesses in nine sectors pinpointed by the government had submitted EMPs by a deadline that expired last month.

In January 2018, MONREC issued a notification to businesses in the nine sectors to submit EMPs to the ministry. In July 2019, the ministry again issued a notification on the requirement, but provided a six-month extension so that the businesses could draw up the plans. The deadline for the submission of the plans expired last month.

The requirement was drawn up for businesses involved in: alcohol, wine and beer production; food and beverage; pesticide formulation and packaging; cement and lime manufacturing; textiles and dyeing; metal smelting and refining and manufacture of pig iron, raw and low alloy steel; tanning and leather finishing; pulp and paper mills; and sugar manufacturing.

“As of the deadline in January, most of the businesses in the nine sectors in the country have met the government’s requirement for submitting their EMPs. Right now the government is analysing the data from the submitted plans so we don’t have exact numbers for the businesses that submitted EMPs, but it is safe to say most of the businesses required to have done so over the last six months,” U Min Maw said.

“The ministry will study the EMPs to see whether they can be approved. Once approved by the ministry, the businesses are required to follow and implement the plans,” he added.

The ministry has announced that it will take action against businesses that do not follow the EMP requirements under the country’s environmental conservation laws.

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/govts-efforts-environmental-management-making-progress-official.html )

​