Southeast Asian nations pledge to strengthen environmental efforts in region - International Herald Tribune: "SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian nations declared Tuesday they would increase efforts to reduce pollution and strengthen the conservation of their resources, saying the effects of climate change must be urgently addressed. 'ASEAN cannot ignore the increasingly obvious and worrying signs of climate change,' said Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister of Singapore, which is hosting the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Leaders of the 10-member bloc issued a declaration to promote their efforts toward a sustainable environment. The measures include achieving an 'aspirational goal' of planting trees to cover at least 10 million hectares (25 million acres) in the region by 2020 to absorb greenhouse gases, according to the declaration signed Tuesday. Members said they would promote the use of renewable and alternative energy sources, such as solar, hydro and wind, as well as civilian nuclear power, the declaration said."