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MANILA, Philippines -- As ASEAN nations head for economic integration, environmental protection becomes an imperative.
"More than 500 million ASEAN citizens are dependent for their food, livelihood and other needs on the resource base of forests, seas, rivers, lands, and other ecosystems. Their protection must therefore be reconciled with the growth rate targets of the ASEAN economic integration, in 2015 and beyond," according to a common statement released by regional policy experts, civil society groups and members of the academe ahead of the World Economic Forum on East Asia (WEF-EA) in Manila.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community will be a key agenda in the forum.
"Being inherently vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and other environmental challenges, ASEAN cannot afford to grow and clean later. Clauses that protect the environment must be included in ASEAN economic agreements," the groups said.
They pushed for the adoption of a charter on environmental rights, which would include "robust and effective mechanisms for access to information, public participation and environmental and social justice."
“The world looks at Southeast Asia as a promising model of economic integration and social development, and yet ASEAN has failed to put mechanisms that would ensure environmental sustainability of the region," said lawyer Zelda Soriano, political advisor of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
“Economic progress is meaningless if ASEAN does not issue safeguards to stop the continued degradation of the environment which will have a direct impact on people and productivity,” Soriano added.
Haze, overfishing, extreme weather: key challenges
The South East Asian haze, overfished seas and extreme weather events are just some of the environmental issues that ASEAN must immediately address.
“While ASEAN countries are scrambling to meet a deadline for economic integration, the reference to the environment in their 2015 community road map and post 2015 vision needs to be strengthened, especially since climate change has now rendered the region much more vulnerable,” Dr. Tun Lwin, Executive Director of the Myanmar Climate Change Watch, said.
The groups and experts said that ASEAN should start by aligning its regional efforts to those prescribed by international environmental treaties and agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cartagena Protocol, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, among others, to which its member-countries are signatories.
They also proposed the following measures:
· Enhanced regional cooperation for the protection and conservation of the remaining forests and peat lands of the region—the lungs of Southeast Asia, whose preservation is critical for stabilizing the global climate;
· Implementation tools, such as a common or trans-boundary mechanism to establish, monitor and undertake environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and strategic impact assessments (SEAs), guided by the Precautionary Principle, Right-to-Know and standards of international environmental laws, to protect the environment from extractive and destructive business operations;
· Harmonized policies phasing out coal, gas and oil to create a level playing field where renewable energies can compete with other energy sources;
· A policy commitment and action plan to establish a network of marine reserves and an end to overfishing within ASEAN;
· A clean production framework for industrial production;
· Regional norms to ensure that public and private sector investments in agriculture and energy do not undermine the food security, climate-resilience, livelihood and welfare of peoples and communities in the region;
· Policies that would shift the funding support from industrial agriculture to sustainable farming practices; and regional programs promoting agro-ecology and sustainable ecosystems;
· More progressive and united positioning of ASEAN in the UNFCCC negotiations;
· Information and knowledge sharing and capacity-building on good adaptation and climate resilience-building policies, practices and programs;
· Regional policies aimed at concretizing a low carbon development path for ASEAN and its Members
“ASEAN economic integration is not just about achieving economic milestones, it should also foster public participation and provide protection for those who are working towards environmental solutions and social safeguards,” Orlando Mercado, secretary general of the Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration (EROPA) and a former ASEAN Ambassador.
“A clean, bio-diverse, low-carbon and resilient ASEAN economic community is possible with everyone’s cooperation, vigilance and perseverance,” the former senator added..
The groups who signed the statement included Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Oxfam Grow, Asian Farmers Association (AFA), Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (ASIADHRRA), Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration (EROPA), the Indonesia Legal Resource Center; the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government (ASOG); Prof. Koh Kheng Lian (National University of Singapore); Dr. Alexander Chandra (Trade Knowledge Network, International Institute for Sustainable Development); Dr. Ramon Razal (University of the Philippines Los Baños)
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