New Delhi, Oct 19 (ANI): Senior environment officials met here on Monday, ahead of the Eighth Meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Environment Ministers.

The Environment Ministers of the SAARC countries will consider the report of the expert group meeting and the draft agreement on the SAARC Natural Disaster Rapid Response Mechanism.

The South Asia Environment Outlook (SAEO) 2009 is also expected to be launched at the meeting.

The Ministers will also consider the modalities for a Regional Environment Treaty.

Various areas of cooperation in the light of the current developments in the context of environment in the region are also likely to be discussed.

Issues like afforestation, environment management and planning, air quality management and water quality, sustainable habitats and waste management, land degradation including desertification, management of coastal areas, river cleaning programme, sustainable livelihoods, and eco-friendly technology development and transfer institutions-capacity building and strengthening are some of the issues to be discussed during the meeting.

Climate change is recognised as greatest long-term threat to SAARC region where around 21 per cent of the world’s population lives on only four per cent of the world’s total physical area.

The 16th SAARC summit to be held in April 2010 in Bhutan will have climate change as the theme, which would underscore the commitment of SAARC countries to address this pressing global challenge. (ANI)