Haifeng Deng and Zhenwei Zhang, Eathipol Srisawaluck, Linda Yanti Sulistiawati, Koh Kheng-Lian Anton Ming-Zhi Gao, Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio, Jonathan Liljeblad, Ritwick Dutta, Charito M. Macalintal-Sawali
This publication offers a curated collection of essays that arise out of the 2017 and 2018
meetings of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s (KAS) informal network of Asian Environmental
Lawyers. As the name indicates, this intergenerational group, which meets annually, is interested
in all issues relating to governing the environment and is a forum for members of the legal
fraternity from Asian to exchange experiences, best practices and ideas related to current and
emerging issues in environmental law and policy.
Before introducing the publication, as the Director of the Rule of Law Programme Asia, I
would also take this opportunity to briefly summarize in general the works of KAS specifically
the Rule of Law Programme. KAS is a German foundation which aims to promote democracy and
international co-operation and has been doing so, with considerable success, for more than 50
years. One of its core pillars is the KAS Rule of Law Programme, which has a truly global
dimension, with dedicated regional offices in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa
and Middle East/Northern Africa. The Asia regional office for the Rule of Law Programme Asia
is located in Singapore, though its activities involve and take place across the full panoply of the
countries that make up this region. By way of example, in 2018-19, the Rule of Law Programme
Asia organized events in Hong Kong, India, Japan, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea,
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, on topics covering rule of law and religion, environmental law,
migration and refugee rights, constitutionalism and digital rights. The KAS Rule of Law
Programme Asia has managed to draw participants from all over the Asian region and the world.
The publication covers a variety of topics ranging from land use regulation, smart cities,
energy and indigenous people’s rights. All of these topics are relevant to the work of KAS given
that we are committed to the cause of sustainable development that takes into account
environmental protection. We also acknowledge the dangers that natural and man-made disasters
can bring to human societies. In pursuing this, KAS Berlin has established an office on Global
Resources Policy and its coordinator will reach out to our regional programmes focusing on
Environment, Energy Security and Climate Change in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan
Africa by delivering programmes with a specific focus on environmental matters.
Source: https://www.kas.de/web/rspa/single-title/-/content/environmental-rule-of-law-in-asia