 The second meeting of experts' committee on SAARC Environment and Forestry began in Dhaka Monday to devise modalities for a regional environmental treaty and ensure water flow in the trans-boundary rivers. The meeting will prepare a ground for the ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in the capital on Wednesday. Prior to the ministerial conference, a meeting of senior officials of the SAARC-family will be held on Tuesday. Inaugurating the experts' meeting, Environment and Forest Minister Tariqul Islam called on the member states to extend cooperation and look forward to implement the directives of the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka. "I believe, there is a vast scope for cooperation in the various fields of environment, particularly in disaster and coastal zone management, arsenic contamination, water conservation, greening south Asia and sharing of trans-boundary flow," he said. He also called on to move forward to consider the modalities for establishing a SAARC environment treaty in furthering environmental cooperation among the member states. Meeting sources said experts, comprising from both GOs and NGOs, discussed the issues relating to develop a comprehensive framework on disaster management and disaster prevention, set modalities for environment treaty and plan to observe 2007 as Green South Asia Year. Experts had also discussion on ensuring minimum water in the trans-boundary rivers to prevent ecological disorder in the region. "A minimum water flow in rivers is essential to ensure ecological balance. We need to set modalities for having reserving a water level in the trans-boundary rivers," said Ainun Nishat, Adviser of Bangladesh delegation and also Country Representative of the IUCN in Bangladesh. He said experts in the region are concerned over the deterioration of environment including soil erosion, landslide and climate change." Establishment of the regional environment treaty will help the SAARC states to address environmental issues in more coordinated manner," he said.