ASEAN Workshop on Narcotic Crop Survey under the Work Plan of ASEAN-NARCO
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Monday 28th of June 2021
ASEAN Workshop on Narcotic Crop Survey under the Work Plan of ASEAN-NARCO
During 19-23 March 2018, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) organized the ASEAN Workshop on Narcotic Crop Survey under the Work Plan of ASEAN-NARCO in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Delegations from 8 ASEAN Member States that have been facing the problem of narcotic crop cultivation attended the workshop, namely, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Mr. Pipop Chamniwikaipong, Advisor to ONCB was assigned by Mr. Sirinya Sitdhichai, Secretary - General, NCB to be a guest of honor in Opening and Closing Ceremony. Mrs. Tipaporn Tasanapak, Director of Narcotic Crops Survey and Monitoring Institute-NCSMI, ONCB, the Head of Thai Delegation chaired the workshop.
The workshop was aimed at sharing the knowledge and experience on Narcotic Crop survey and the best practice which will conduce to the narcotic crop control activity and alternative development in such 8 countries that have narcotic crop cultivation problem. Furthermore, this workshop was served as a forum for exchanging information on narcotic problems and policy on the narcotic crop survey and eradication of participating ASEAN Member States. The organization of the workshop was also to support the Section VI on Alternative Development of the ASEAN Work Plan on Securing Communities against Illicit Drugs 2016-2025 which encouraged ASEAN Member States to continue annual opium and cannabis surveys to identify and measure illicit cultivation and production as well as to develop effective information management system on illicit opium poppy and cannabis cultivation. Moreover, in Section III on Law Enforcement, ASEAN Member States are encouraged to enhance their national efforts in the eradication of illicit crop cultivation as well as to maximize the utilization of the ASEAN-NARCO in sharing information and handling joint cases. The ASeAN-NARCO website, therefore, is used as a channel of information exchange on illicit narcotic crops cultivation and other anti-drug activities of ASEAN Member States.
Mr. Pipop Chamniwikaipong, Advisor to ONCB, and Expert on Narcotic Crop Survey as well as on Alternative Development was the key lecturer and resource person for this workshop, and specialized lecturers from NCSMI gave presentation on concerned topics. Country presentations were made by representatives of 8 ASEAN Member States.
On 21st March 2018, the delegations went to the area where the opium poppies were cultivated. Delegates attended the briefing and observed the demonstration on using narcotic crop survey equipment, a Drone which is a technology of Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV). In addition, delegates exchanged the information and discussed about the further cooperation on the narcotic crop survey.
The delegates expressed their strong interest in narcotic crop survey as presented by Thailand, however, each Member State had different narcotic problem, experiences and obstacles on narcotic crop survey. Some ASEAN Member States would like to explore for the support from Thailand on technical and academic aspects such as, human resources development, and equipments for narcotic crop survey. In this regard, the delegations will propose the workshop result and comment to their respective heads of national drug control agencies. For Thailand, the ONCB will report the workshop result to the 39th MEETING OF ASEAN SENIOR OFFICIALS ON DRUG MATTERS which will be held in Brunei Darussalam in August 2018.
