Asia
Due to rapid development and population growth, Asia faces environmental challenges including climate change, deforestation, desertification and loss of biodiversity, and air and water pollution.
The Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN) was established in 2005 by environmental agency leaders from 13 Asian countries to promote improved compliance with environmental legal requirements in Asia.
As AECEN notes on its website, “[w]hile many governments have developed legal and institutional frameworks, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws remains weak due in large part to technical, financial, and human resource limitations. Common challenges include: overlapping and fragmented authority, limited interagency coordination, incomplete decentralization, lack of standardized procedures, weak human and institutional capacity, limited public outreach and involvement, and insufficient program data and performance indicators.”
Key Activities & Publications
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Featured Article: Barriers and Solutions to Better Environmental Enforcement in China
In their article, law professors Jin Wang and Houfu Yan provide a good summary of the challenges that China faces in achieving sound environmental governance