October 29th - With the support of Tha Bar Wa Project, WWF-Myanmar, the first Food and Beverage (F&B) working group committee meeting was conducted by Environmental Conservation Department (ECD) of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MoNREC) in Nay Pyi Taw to support environmentally friendly practices in the F& B sector and to effectively implement and regulate Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The meeting discussed the challenges of with regards to EMP implementation and development of an action plans and the road map for ECD to effectively regulate EMP in nine prioritized industrial sectors including F&B.

The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Director General of ECD, U Sein Tun Lin and representatives from Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Health and Sport, Ministry of Labor, Immigration & Population, Yangon City Development Committee, Mandalay City Development Committee, Naypyidaw City Development Committee, Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar Food Producer and Exporters Association, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),WWF-Myanmar (Tha Bar Wa Project) and technical experts from relevant organizations.

Tha Bar Wa project is funded by the European Union under the SWITCH-Asia Programme. It promotes cleaner production within the food and beverage industry by promoting wastewater treatment plants, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. It supports financial institutions to offer banking products designed specifically for cleaner production.