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Transboundary and Global Environmental Issues: The Role of asean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2012

Koh Kheng-Lian
Koh Kheng-Lian*
Affiliation:
Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. Email: lawkohkl@nus.edu.sg.
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Abstract

This contribution focuses on the challenges that regional organizations face as they are increasingly confronted with, and need to respond to, transboundary and global environmental problems. Ever more frequently, environmental issues that begin as matters of national concern rapidly become transboundary in scope. As exemplified by the outbreak of avian flu, integrated national, regional and international efforts are necessary to tackle transboundary environmental issues which, by their very definition, call for a coordinated effort. This article will concentrate on the impact of transboundary environmental challenges on the objectives and functions of the Association of South East Asian Nations (asean).

Keywords

aseanTransboundary Environmental ChallengesNon-traditional Security Approach, asean Political-Security Community Blueprintasean Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint
Type
Invited Article
Information
Transnational Environmental Law , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , April 2012 , pp. 67 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

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2 The founding ASEAN Declaration was signed in Bangkok (Thailand) on 8 Aug. 1967, and is available at: http://www.aseansec.org/1212.htm.

3 K.L. Koh, ‘The Impact of Climate Change on Food Security and the Role of ASEAN’, paper presented at the 8th Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference, ‘Law in a Sustainable Asia’, 26–27 May 2011, Kyushu University, Japan.

4 Available at: http://www.asean.org/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf. The three pillars were first delineated in the Declaration of the 2003 ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II) available at: http://www.aseansec.org/publ-bali-concord.pdf.

5 ASEAN, Roadmap for an ASEAN Community: 2009–2015, which includes the various Blueprints under discussion, available at: http:// www.aseansec.org/publications/RoadmapASEANCommunity.pdf.

6 Washington, DC (US), 3 Mar. 1973, in force 1 July 1975, available at: http://www.cites.org.

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8 ASEAN, Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint (2009–2015), available at: http://www.aseansec.org/22336.pdf, para 31.

9 UN Millennium Development Goal 7, available at: http://www.undp.org/mdg/goal7.shtml. Such a reduction was pledged by countries in the WSSD Plan of Implementation, available at: http://www.un.org/jsummit/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfinal.htm; see ASEAN, Declaration on Environmental Sustainability, 20 Nov. 2007, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/21060.htm. See ASEAN, Joint Declaration on the Attainment of Millennium Development Goals, 1 Mar. 2009, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/22334.htm.

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11 ASEAN, Declaration on Heritage Parks and Reserves, 29 Nov. 1984, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/6078.htm; see Koh, K.L., ‘Land Stewardship and the Law: ASEAN Heritage Parks and Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation’, in Chalifour, N.J., Kameri-Mbote, P., Lye, L.H. & Nolon, J.R. (eds.), Land Use Law for Sustainable Development (Cambridge University Press, 2006) at pp. 352–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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13 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 5 June 1992, in force 29 Dec. 1993, available at: http://www.cbd.int/convention/text.

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16 ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint, n. 8 above.

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20 Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Malaysia on the Establishment of the Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area (1996), available at:http://eelink.net/~asilwildlife/TIHPA-MOA.html.

21 See East Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (EA FLEG) Ministerial Declaration of 13 Sept. 2001 (Bali Declaration 2001), available at: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2002/timber_mafia/resources/balideclaration.pdf; ASEAN Social Forestry Network, available at: http://www.recoftc.org/site/fileadmin/docs/publications/The_Grey_Zone/2007/ASFN.pdf; ASEAN Statement on Strengthening Forest Law Enforcement and Governance, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/21032.htm.

22 Above n. 6.

23 ASEAN, Statement on CITES, 11 Oct. 2004, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/16470.htm; Lin, J., ‘Tackling Southeast Asia’s Illegal Wildlife Trade’, in Lim, C.L. (ed.), (2005) 9 Singapore Year Book of International Law, at pp. 191–208.Google Scholar

24 Ibid.

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26 See http://www.asean-wen.org; ASEAN, Statement on Launching of the ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Network, 1 Dec. 2005, available at:http://www.aseansec.org/17933.htm.

27 ‘Asian Nations Launch Regional Plan to Smash Wildlife Smuggling Rings’, Agence France-Presse, 11 Oct. 2004, archived at the ASEAN Secretariat website, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/afp/75p.htm.

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29 WildAid is an international NGO with the mission to combat illegal wildlife trade. See http://www.wildaid.org.

30 ‘ASEAN Action Plan on Wildlife Trade’, 26 May 2005, available at: http://www.indianjungles.com/280505.htm.

31 ASEAN-WEN, Support Program Assessment Report, available at: http://www.asean-wen.org/newscenter_typepopup.php?newsID=31; see also Joan Silver’s speech, ‘ASEAN-WEN Presentation of Survey Results’, Phnom Phen (Cambodia), 19 Oct. 2006, available at: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/675215/Remarks-by-Joan-Silver-USAID-Acting-Mission-Director-ASEAN-WEN-Presentation-of-Survey-Results-October.

32 ASEAN, Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/21116.htm.

33 Koh, K.L. & Bhullar, L., ‘Governance on Adaptation to Climate Change in the ASEAN Region’ (2011) 5(1) Carbon and Climate Change Law Review, pp. 82–90.Google Scholar

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35 The Rockefeller Foundation, ‘Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network’, available at: http://www.rockfound.org/initiatives/climate/acccrn.shtml.

36 Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia, available at: http://www.climateadapt.asia.

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38 Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC, Kyoto (Japan), 10 Dec. 1997, in force 16 Feb. 2005, available at: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php.

39 See http://www.aseansec.org/documents/19th%20summit/ASEAN_Leaders%27_Statement_on_Climate_Change.pdf.

40 N. 4 above.

41 See n. 5 above.

42 Except transboundary environmental pollution under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (see Section 3.1 below), and a few other types of pollution.

43 Koh, K.L., The Discourse of Environmental Security in the ASEAN Context (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; M. Caballero-Antony, ‘Non-Traditional Security Challenges, Regional Governance and the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)’, Asia Security Initiative Policy Series, Working Paper No. 7, Sept. 2010, available at: http://www.rsis.edu.sg/NTS/resources/research_papers/MacArthur_working_paper_Mely_Caballero-Anthony.pdf.

44 ASEAN, Political-Security Community Blueprint, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/22337.pdf.

45 Ibid.; see also ‘ADMM Agrees to Strengthen ASEAN to Deal with Non-traditional Security Threats’, English People’s Daily Online, 27 Feb. 2009, available at: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6602400.html.

46 Transcript available at: http://www.rsis.edu.sg/nts/Events/Launch/keynote%20address%20by%20Surin%20Pitsuwan%20-transcript.pdf; Koh, n. 43 above.

47 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), 10 June 2002, in force 25 Nov. 2003, available at: http://www.aseansec.org/agr_haze.pdf.

48 Koh, K.L., ‘A Breakthrough in Solving the Indonesian Haze?’, in Hart, S. (ed.), Shared Resources: Issues of Governance (IUCN, 2008), pp. 225–46Google Scholar, available at: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/eplp_72.pdf.

49 Currently under Part II, section 2.D of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint (‘Managing and Preventing Environmental Pollution’).

50 ATHP, n. 47 above (emphasis added). See also VAP, n. 10 above, para. 3.3(ii), where it is envisaged that environmental management of the Haze must be intensified though, inter alia, ‘international cooperation’.

51 J. Devan, ‘Help Needed to Tackle Haze Issue’, available at: http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/11/haze_balls_on_un_table_and_ind.php.

52 J. Devan, ‘Haze: Why Jakarta Should Accept International Help’, The Straits Times, 4 Nov. 2006 (emphasis added); see also ‘ASEAN Needs Help to Tackle Haze – PM: International Expertise Needed to Help Nip Problem in the Bud’, The Straits Times, 6 Nov. 2006; ‘Embassy: Jakarta Prefers to Solve Haze within ASEAN’, The Straits Times, 9 Nov. 2006. See also Koh, n. 48 above.

53 ‘Haze: Why Jakarta Should Accept International Help’, ibid.

54 Ibid. Asmady was not the only one to voice her discontent. Indonesia’s displeasure was also voiced by its Industry Minister, Fahmis Idris, as reported:

Indonesia’s Industry Minister, Fahmi Idris, is still upset at Singapore’s decision to raise the haze issue at the United Nations General Assembly last month. To register his protest at the move, Mr Fahmi boycotted a meeting of the Indonesia–Singapore joint steering committee on the Batam, Bintan and Karimun special economic zones, according to Antara news agency, ‘I did not attend the meeting in protest of Singapore’s step to table the haze issue at the UN General Assembly, though Singapore has previously agreed to tackle the problem at ASEAN (Association of South-east Asian Nations) level,’ said Mr Fahmi, who stayed away from last Friday’s meeting.

‘Haze: Balls on UN Table, Indonesia Upset’, available at: http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/11/haze_balls_on_un_table_and_ind.php.

55 J. Devan, ‘Haze: Why Jakarta Should Accept International Help’ (above n.52); ‘Jakarta Using Sand Ban to Put Pressure on S’pore’, The Straits Times, 17 Feb. 2007; ‘Between the Sand and a Flooded Place: Ministers Set Record Straight, Call for Calm as Neighbours Blow Hot and Cold’, Today, 13 Feb. 2007.

56 ‘Between the Sand and a Flooded Place’, ibid.

57 ‘S’pore Jakarta ties not clouded by Haze’, The Straits Times, 15 Nov. 2006.

58 S. Vasoo, ‘Jakarta Unhappy but S’pore Explains Why it Wants Wider Haze Effort’, 7 Nov. 2006, available at: http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/11/haze_balls_on_un_table_and_ind.php.

59 See Widhiarto, H., ‘Singapore Refuses to Renegotiate Extradition Treaty with Indonesia’, The Jakarta Post/Asian News Network, 29 Sept. 2011, available at: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-refuses-renegotiate-extradition-treaty-indonesia-053002761.html.Google Scholar

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62 This principle originated from the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648, available at: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/westphal.asp.

63 See Koh, K.L. & Robinson, N.A., ‘Strengthening Sustainable Development in Regional Inter-governmental Governance: Lessons from the “ASEAN Way”’ (2002) 6 Singapore Journal of International & Comparative Law, pp. 640–82.Google Scholar

64 The term refers to those diseases which normally occur in animals, but which can be transmitted to humans.

65 K.L. Koh, ‘Animal Health, Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Avian Influenza,’ IUCN Environmental Law Programme, 2005/2006 Newsletter, pp. 12–3, available at: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/newsletter_0506_en.pdf.

66 China Daily, 10 May 2004.

67 N. Ghosh, ‘ASEAN Plus Three to Cooperate in Flu Fight’, The Straits Times, 9 May 2009.

68 ASEAN, Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint (2009–2015), n. 8 above, section B7 ‘Building Disaster-Resilient Nations and Safe Communities’, para. 25, xii.

69 S. Pitsuwan, Press Briefing on Flexible Engagement, Manila (Philippines), 24 July 1998. See also, Haacke, J., ASEAN’s Diplomatic and Security Culture: Origins, Development and Prospects (Routledge, 2001).Google Scholar

70 Pitsuwan, ibid.

71 Of course, the Indonesian haze problem predates the first pillar.