ASSESSMENT OF THE 'STRENGTHS' OF THE NEW ASEAN AGREEMENT ON TRANSBOUNDARY HAZE POLLUTION

After writing a conference paper, I was able to write an article published in the International Review of Environmental Strategies (Vol. 4, No. 1, 2003) (see journal cover at the left) of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) (see logo above). The summary is pasted below. If you want a copy, e-mail me at efloranoy@yahoo.com. Or buy a copy of the journal.

Source: http://www.iges.or.jp/en/pub/ires/pdf/vl4_n1/10.html

Current Development
Assessment of the "Strengths" of the New ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution
Ebinezer R. Florano

This article assesses the theoretical “strengths” of the new ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (ATHP), which was initially created to prevent, monitor, and mitigate land and forest fires, and eventually, transboundary haze pollution in the Southeast Asian region. Using Pamela Chasek’s “Strength Index,” the author graded the contents of the ATHP using the various weighting systems for each of the following 12 indexes: secretariat/commission; reporting; reservation; monitoring; non-compliance; inspection; dispute settlement; amendments, protocols, and annexes; performance standards; liability provisions; financial resources and mechanisms; and adoption of protocol within five years. The ATHP obtained no score in those indexes that could have given its Secretariat the power to monitor or inspect the compliance of the Parties and to mete out punishment to stubborn ones. For this reason, it can be branded as a “blind and toothless paper tiger,” although one would have expected the involvement of the United Nations Environment Programme in its drafting to produce better results. Compared to a similar regional environmental accord—its European counterpart, the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution—the ATHP appears (in theory) to be stronger, but there are lessons to be learned from Europe’s more than 20 years of experience with that convention. In the company of 13 other multilateral environmental accords, the ATHP is among the stragglers. The author suggests various compliance and enforcement strategies or techniques to strengthen the ATHP and implementation-related laws and regulations at the regional, national, and sub-national levels.

By the way, my IRES article is cited by Prof. Alan Tan of the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore in his article entitled, "The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution: Prospect for Compliance and Effectiveness in Post-Suharto Indonesia" published in NUS's law journal.

It is also indexed in the libraries of the following organizations/offices:
1. Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores (Mexico) - www.sre.gob.mx/imred/biblioteca/bol57/medambte.htm
2. IDE-JETRO (Japan) - http://opac.ide.go.jp/
3. Kwansei Gakuin University (Japan) - http://kgsaint/kwansei.ac.jp/rrpdf/50-02S.pdf