Enhancing Transboundary Haze Pollution Cooperation in Southeast Asia (2003-2020): External Actors and ASEAN Supporting Mechanisms
Main Article Content
Abstract
The ongoing and escalating crisis of transboundary haze pollution in Southeast Asia, primarily caused by peat fires in Indonesia, has caused regional and global concern. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) was launched in 2002 as a joint effort to address this environmental issue, but its effectiveness has been questioned. This study examines the role of external actors working with ASEAN support mechanisms in implementing the AATHP to improve the implementation of the AATHP during the period 2003-2020. The study employed qualitative analysis, which thoroughly examined credible academic documents. Contrary to the prevailing views on the limitations of the ASEAN Way, the findings highlight the multiple roles of external actors as funders and implementers working with ASEAN support mechanisms, particularly about peatland management. Specifically, the European Union (EU), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Global Environment Centre (GEC) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have played a pivotal role in shaping ASEAN’s institutional framework, financial support and promotion of international cooperation. The study concludes that the engagement of external actors has had a positive impact on ASEAN’s ability to tackle transboundary haze pollution and has promoted a more robust and collaborative regional environmental management approach.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
References
Alam, S., & Nurhidayah, L. (2017). The international law on transboundary haze pollution: What can we learn from the southeast asia region? Review of European Community & International Environmental Law, 26(3), 243-254.
ASEAN Secretariat & Global Environment Centre. (2015). APFP-SEAPEAT key achievements 2010-2015: Sustainable management of peatland forests in southeast asia (SEApeat project). Retrieved from https://doi.org/http://myagric.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/11337
ASEAN Secretariat. (2005). The ASEAN peatland management initiative (APMI). Retrieved from https://environment.asean.org/public/fresources/detail/the-asean-peatland-management-initiative-apmi
ASEAN Secretariat. (2016). ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution. Retrieved from https://hazeportal.asean.org/publications/asean-agreement-on-transboundary-haze-pollution/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2020). ASEAN haze and peatland programmes. Retrieved from https://asean.org/speechandstatement/asean-haze-and-peatland-programmes/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2021a). Measurable action for haze-free sustainable land management in southeast asia (MAHFSA). Retrieved from https://hazeportal.asean.org/programmes/mahfsa/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2021b). Past programme. Retrieved from https://hazeportal.asean.org/programmes/past-programme/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2021c). Report of the final review of the ASEAN peatland management strategy (APMS) 2006-2020. Retrieved from https://hazeportal.asean.org/publications/report-of-the-final-review-of-the-asean-peatland-management-strategy-apms-2006-2020/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2021d). The sustainable management of peatland ecosystems in mekong countries project. Retrieved from https://hazeportal.asean.org/programmes/mekong/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2021e). The sustainable use of peatlands and haze mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA). Retrieved from https://hazeportal.asean.org/programmes/supa/
ASEAN Secretariat. (2023). ASEAN peatland management strategy 2023-2020. Retrieved from https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/APMS-7-Nov-web.pdf
Caballero-Anthony, M. (2018). Negotiating governance on non-traditional security in southeast Asia and beyond. New York, The United States: Columbia University Press.
Charusombat, P. (2023a). ASEAN cooperation on transboundary haze pollution: The perspective of institutional incremental change. Journal of Environmental Information Science, 2022(2), 1-12.
Charusombat, P. (2023b). From layering to conversion investigating ASEAN’s gradual shift in dealing with transboundary haze pollution (2015-2016). Journal of Social Research, 46(2), 99-132.
Giessen, L., & Sahide, M. A. K. (2017). Blocking, attracting, imposing, and aligning: The utility of ASEAN forest and environmental regime policies for strong member states. Land use Policy, 67, 13-26.
Global Environment Centre. (2023). Who we are. Retrieved from https://www.gec.org.my/index.cfm?&menuid=61
Haas, P. M. (2016). Regional environmental governance (pp. 430-456). In Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism. Oxford Handbooks.
Heilmann, D. (2015). After indonesia’s ratification: The ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution and its effectiveness as a regional environmental governance tool. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 34(3), 95-121.
International Fund for Agricultural Development. (2023). About us. Retrieved from https://www.ifad.org/en/about
Koreh, M., Mandelkern, R., & Shpaizman, I. (2019). A dynamic theoretical framework of gradual institutional changes. Public Administration, 97(3), 605-620.
Kumar, R. (2020). The united nations and global environmental governance. Strategic Analysis, 44(5), 479-489.
Mahoney, J., & Thelen, K. (2010). A theory of gradual institutional change. Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Muhammad, F. (2022). Environmental agreement under the non-interference principle: The case of ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 22(1), 139-155.
Nazeer, N., & Furuoka, F. (2017). Overview of Asean environment, transboundary haze pollution agreement and public health. International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, 13(1), 73-94.
Nguitragool, P. (2011). Negotiating the haze treaty: Rationality and institutions in the negotiations for the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution (2002). Asian Survey, 51(2), 356-378.
Otsuka, K., & Cheng, F. (2022). Embryonic forms of private environmental governance in northeast asia. Pacific Review, 35(1), 116-146.
Ramirez, N. E. (2013). ASEAN peatlands management strategy 2006-2020: Promoting sustainable management of peatlands in southeast asia. Rehabilitation, 10, 10.2.
Soma, C. (2018). The IFAD-GEF advantage II: Linking smallholders and global environmental benefits. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.304744
Song, W., & Wang, J. (2019). The European union in the Asia-Pacific: Rethinking Europe’s trategies and policies. In The European Union in the Asia-Pacific. Manchester University Press.
Sunchindah, A. (2015). Transboundary haze pollution problem in Southeast Asia: Reframing ASEAN’s response (No. DP-2015-82).
The Global Environment Facility. (2023a). Donor countries. Retrieved from https://www.thegef.org/projects-operations/donor-countries
The Global Environment Facility. (2023b). Who we are. Retrieved from https://www.thegef.org/who-we-are
Van der Heijden, J. (2011). Institutional layering: A review of the use of the concept. Politics (Manchester, England), 31(1), 9-18.
Varkkey, H. (2017). 40 years of ASEAN environmental governance: Enhancing Asean centrality through the ASEAN plus three (APT). Malaysian Journal of International Relations, 5(1), 47-65.
Varkkey, H. (2020). The Asean way and haze mitigation efforts. Journal of International Studies, 8(2012), 78-97.
Varkkey, H. (2022). Emergent geographies of chronic air pollution governance in southeast Asia: Transboundary publics in Singapore. Environmental Policy and Governance, 32(4), 348-361.
Varkkey, H., & Lupascu, M. (2023). Peat fires in Brunei Darussalam: Considerations for ASEAN haze cooperation and emerging regional infrastructure development. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 45(1), 129-141.