Environmental Law and Sustainability in the Asia Pacific

OXFORD HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Simon Chesterman and Ben Saul eds, Oxford University Press, Forthcoming

Sydney Law School Research Paper 18/07

22 Pages Posted: 22 Feb 2018

See all articles by Ben Boer

Ben Boer

The University of Sydney Law School, Environmental Law; Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University

Date Written: February 21, 2018

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is on the development and implementation of the international and regional instruments (multi-lateral environmental agreements, or MEAs) and policies concerning the environment and natural resources across the sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific, in the context of the continuing debate on ecological sustainability. Many of these instruments and policies have shaped national environmental law responses in the region from the 1970s. The two most recent are the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their associated SDG Targets, both agreed in 2015.

The six subregions addressed in this chapter are Central Asia, South Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Mekong Basin (which overlaps with Southeast Asia) and the Pacific (primarily the developing island countries). Australia and New Zealand are briefly canvassed where appropriate, as part of the Pacific sub-region. The chapter examines the functions of the more important regional institutions together with their associated legal frameworks and soft law instruments for each of the Asia Pacific’s subregions.

Keywords: international environmental law, regional environmental law, fragmentation, Asian region, Pacific region, sustainable development goals, regional environmental institutions

JEL Classification: K10, K30

Suggested Citation

Boer, Ben, Environmental Law and Sustainability in the Asia Pacific (February 21, 2018). OXFORD HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Simon Chesterman and Ben Saul eds, Oxford University Press, Forthcoming, Sydney Law School Research Paper 18/07, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3127978

Ben Boer (Contact Author)

The University of Sydney Law School, Environmental Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University

Luojia Hill, Wuchang
Wuhan, Hubei
China

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