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Introduction a. What What is AS ASEA EAN N Association of South East Asian Nations Current member-states: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Sina!ore, "hili!!ines, #runei $arussalam, Cambodia, %ietnam, Myanmar, &aos 'ead(uartered 'ead(uartered in )a*arta, Indonesia b. 'istor 'istorica icall bac bac*r *roun ound d Created in Auust +, / #an*o* $eclaration 0 1 foundin countries Aims and !ur!oses 2ere about coo!eration in the economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other felds , and in the promotion o regional peace and stability throuh abidin respect or justice and the rule o law and adherence to the principles o the United Nations Charter. The A!AN "ay
In ASEAN Charter announced in 344/, ASEAN rea5rmed its intention to 6res!ectin the fundamental im!ortance of amity and coo!eration, and the !rinci!les of so7ereinty, so7ereinty, e(uality, territorial interity, non#intererence, consensus and unity in di7ersity89 •
"rinci!le of non-interference
The ASEAN manner manner of conductin conductin inter-state inter-state relations relations is nestled nestled on the !rinci!le !rinci!le that 6no so7erein may eercise eercise authority in the domain of another9. -
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ASEAN ASEAN members members refrain refrain from from critici critici;in ;in the actions actions of of other other member member o7ernments to2ards their o2n !eo!le
Member Member countri countries es 2ill 2ill critici critici;e ;e the the actions actions of the the states states 2hich 2hich 2ere 2ere deemed deemed to ha7e breached the !rinci!le of non-interference8 Member Member countri countries es 2ill 2ill deny deny to recon reconi;e i;e or or to su!!l su!!ly y sanctua sanctuary ry or any other other forms of su!!ort to any rebel rou! see*in to destabili;e or o7erthro2 the o7ernment of a neihborin state and8 ASEAN ASEAN 2ill 2ill !ro7 !ro7ide ide !olitical !olitical su!!ort su!!ort and material material assis assistanc tance e to member member states in their cam!ain aainst sub7ersion and destabili;in destabili;in acti7ities. "rinci!le of consensus
The ASEAN manner manner of ma*in decisions shall shall be by consensus, consensus, 2hich 2hich means any country can 7eto a !ro!osal. $is!utes on South China Sea 0 no consensus amonst the member-states because of Cambodia
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A!A A!AN N Ini Initi tiat ati$ i$es es in the the %ie %ield ld o !n$i !n$iro ronm nmen entt ASEAN En7ironmental "roram I <//> and II <+3> Strateic Action "lan on En7ironment En7ironment <-344?> Establishment Establishment of the ASEAN Center for #iodi7ersity Conser7ation Conser7ation <>
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@eional Action "lan for En7ironmentally Sound and Sustainable $e7elo!ment <34403441> Transboundary 'a;e "ollution Act <3443-344> ASEAN "lus Three East Asia Summit En7ironment Ministers Meetin China-ASEAN Stratey on En7ironmental "rotection Coo!eration <344> SBSTAIN EB-ASEAN !roect ASEAN Socio Cultural Community #lue!rint <344 0 341>
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In No7ember 341, the ASEAN Socio Cultural Community #lue!rint 3431 2as introduced ASCC 3431 document hihlihts four broad measures, includin: <> conser7ation and sustainable manaement of ecosystemsD o biodi7ersity and natural resources8 o <3> en7ironmentally sustainably cities8 o <> sustainable climate8 and o sustainable consum!tion and !roduction.
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The A!AN tructure and 'ecision (a)ing *rocess or !n$ironmental Cooperation
As stated in the ourth ASEAN State of the En7ironment @e!ort 344, ASEAN aims to becomin an en7ironmentally-sustainable ASEAN Community by e=ecti7ely ada!tin to e7er chanin circumstances and im!ro7in the reionDs en7ironmental sustainability. ASEAN has Frmly committed to establish a +reen A!AN- since the celebration of 344 ASEAN $ay by addressin the follo2in three challenes:
buildin an en7ironmentally sustainable clean and reen ASEAN Community, transformin the 6reen shoots9 of ro2th follo2in the 344+ lobal Fnancial crisis into an economically resilient ASEAN anchored u!on reen ro2th, and nurturin the ne2 ASEAN to be a !eo!le-centered orani;ation res!ectin and li7in in harmony 2ith nature.
To achie7e the 6Green ASEAN,9 ASEAN ado!ted the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community #lue!rint, 2hich established en7ironmental sustainability as one of its *ey !illars and set the !riority areas as sho2n in iure The #lue!rint clearly states strateic obecti7es and actions to be ta*en to achie7e the oals under each !riority area. ASEAN member states ha7e committed to im!lement 7arious concrete acti7ities by 341. H7erall, the en7ironmental content of the #lue!rint sinals the intention of ASEAN member states to strenthen the reionDs community-buildin !rocess based u!on the !rinci!les of e(uity and !ublic !artici!ation. This could be a siniFcant chane from the traditional !rinci!les em!hasi;ed in the economic and security coo!eration mechanisms, such as informal elite-oriented decision ma*in. The #lue!rint also em!hasi;es climate
chane, includin both mitiation and ada!tation measures, as 2ell as food and enery security in res!onse to both the lobal Fnancial crisis and climate chane !ressures. The tet reects the actual needs and the en7ironmental conditions of the ASEAN reion and calls for coo!eration outside the reion by identifyin broader and common !roblems of sustainable de7elo!ment !olicies. 'o2e7er, it is not clear to 2hat etent the #lue!rint 2ill be im!lemented i7en its non-bindin nature and the 2ide di7ersity in the !olitical, economic, and socio-cultural characteristics of ASEAN member states.
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Institutional %ramewor) or !n$ironmental Cooperation
The ASEAN Summit is the su!reme !olicy-ma*in body of ASEAN, 2here the ASEAN leaders !ro7ide the 7ision and broad direction for coo!eration in 7arious sectors. It meets t2ice a year in addition to ha7in s!ecial or ad-hoc meetins. A ne2ly constituted ASEAN Coordinatin Council com!risin the ASEAN orein Ministers, amon others, coordinates 2ith the ASEAN Community Councils to enhance !olicy coherence, e5ciency and coo!eration. Each of the three Communities has an ASEAN Community Council 2hich, amon other thins, ensures the im!lementation of the rele7ant decisions of the ASEAN Summit, coordinates the 2or* of the di=erent sectors under its !ur7ie2 and on issues 2hich cut across the other Community Councils, and also o7ersees the 2or* of the ASEAN En7ironment Ministers. The ASEAN En7ironment Ministers are mainly res!onsible for !olicy and strateic matters related to the en7ironment, and they ha7e a mandate to ma*e decisions. The En7ironment Ministers meet on a formal basis once e7ery three years, and since ?, they ha7e also been meetin on an informal basis annually. The ASHEN meetin is held annually and su!!orts the ASEAN En7ironment Ministers Meetin in terms of formulation, im!lementation and monitorin of reional !roram and acti7ities. It also considers the re!orts of its Wor*in Grou!s, 2hich also meet annually, and !ro7ides o!erational !olicy uidance on the 7arious en7ironmental !roram bein im!lemented. ASEANDs orani;ational structure relatin to the en7ironment is framented into 7arious le7els of decision ma*in and institutional frame2or* such as the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Senior H5cials on the En7ironment , ASEAN Ministerial Meetin on En7ironment , and / Wor*in Grou!s . The ASEAN Secretariat mainly !lays a role in coordinatin inter-sectoral issues and acti7ities, 2hile ASHEN and AMME ser7e as !latforms to endorse concrete acti7ities. The se7en Wor*in Grou!s on the En7ironment are the only im!lementin rou!s in ASEAN for en7ironmental issues. It is notable that the ASEAN countries ha7e collecti7ely de7elo!ed the current orani;ational structure and dee!ened coo!erati7e e=orts 2ithin ASEAN des!ite the lare !olitical, socio-economic, and cultural di=erences amon member countries. •
Wor*in Grou!s
The main res!onsibility of the 2or*in rou!s is to !romote and enhance coo!eration amon ASEAN member states in im!lementin the ASEAN SCC #lue!rint, accordin to their terms of reference. This includes ca!acity buildin, sharin information, and re7ie2in reional acti7ities etc. There are se7en Wor*in Grou!s, namely: <> ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on Coastal and Marine En7ironment <3> ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on En7ironmental Education <> ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on En7ironmentally Sustainable Cities ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on Multilateral En7ironmental Areements <1> ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on Nature Conser7ation and #iodi7ersity <> ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on Water @esources Manaement ASEAN Wor*in Grou! on Climate Chane &ead Countries are chosen based on their interests in the !articular !roblem area and the a7ailability of their funds for the !articular area. "olicies and !ro!osals of WGs Fnal endorsement •
ASHEN
$eleates of ASEAN Member-States for
ASEAN Senior H5cials on the En7ironment ormerly *no2n as the ASEAN E!ert Grou! on the En7ironment o o Ele7ated in + to ASHEN o Meets once a year to consider re!orts of the WGs o ASEAN Ministerial Meetin on En7ironment Meets once e7ery years formally Conducts informal meetins almost e7ery year @e7ie2s the decisions endorsed by the ASHEN
@e!orts of the ASHEN Meetins Meetin •
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ASEAN Standin Committee
ASEAN Ministerial
ASEAN Secretariat o 'eaded by the Secretary-General o Currently '.E. &e &uon Minh, $e!uty orein Minister of %ietnam o Acts as a resource base, !ro7ides ad7ice and information, coordinates the im!lementation of reional acti7ities and !rorams 'andles issues not fallin 2ithin any of the issue-areas of the WGs o ASEAN Committee of "ermanent @e!resentati7es o Established by the ASEAN Charter Coordinates 2ith the core business of ASEAN, includin im!lementation o of the Charter and the #lue!rints o Ensures that ASEC has ade(uate Fnancial and human resources
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'as reular meetins 2ith ASEC althouh not only 2ith the En7ironment $i7ision
$ecision Ma*in "rocess o ollo2s the basic !rinci!le of consultation and consensus o T2o !arts of decision ma*in: !olicy-ma*in and im!lementation o "olicy-ma*in 0 AMME has the Fnal decision follo2ed by the ASHEN
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WG ASHEN ASEAN Committee of "ermanent @e!resentati7es, ASEAN Coordination Council, and Ministers
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ASEC
Im!lementation 0 En7ironment $i7ision of ASEC circulates !ro!osals amon rele7ant di7isions
@ele7ant $i7isions
'olds meetins 2ith national focal !oints of WGs
'o2e7er, challenes to collecti7e action still remain, includin a shortae of Fnances and the slo2 !roress of im!lementation constrained by the 2ea* coordination and continued em!hasis on the a!!lication of the !rinci!les of state so7ereinty and non-interference in internal a=airs, the so-called 6ASEAN Way.9
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a. ASEAN Socio Cultural Community #lue!rintDs En7ironmental Coo!eration "riority Areas b. ASEANDS Institutional rame2or* for En7ironmental Coo!eration c. ASEAN Secretariat actors Inuencin ASEANDs En7ironmental Coo!eration a. "ositi7e factors i. Increasin seriousness of en7ironmental issues ii. In7ol7ement of NGHs b. Challenes i. Slo2 decision ma*in due to framented and bureaucratic orani;ation structures ii. Wor*in Grou!s sometimes lac* of substance iii. #udetary constraints and insu5cient human resources i7. Inade(uate coordination 7. $omestic barriers
