ADB Co-Organized Second ASEAN Environmental Law Conference

The ASEAN region is continuing to face significant environmental and social challenges that require urgent and innovative responses within the environmental law landscape. 

The Second ASEAN Environmental Law Conference held 5-7 April 2022, convened 4,500 participants covering 15 sessions on the myriad of environmental and social challenges facing the ASEAN region. The conference convened development partners, civil society organizations, judges, academia, lawyers, private sector and other interested stakeholders from 66 countries to discuss legal, policy and community-based actions to transform principles of environmental law into practice. 

The primary objective of the conference was to share stories from ASEAN countries to develop action plans for several major environmental issues. Speakers at the conference included Justice Ayesha A. Malik of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Joan Carling, Executive Director, Indigenous Peoples Rights International.

ADB Deputy General Counsel Damien Eastman gave opening remarks focusing on judicial remedies in climate change and environmental cases. He noted the challenging role of judges in navigating fair, timely, and sustainable remedies within existing and sometime outdated legal systems. Damien also had the pleasure of welcoming the first female justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Ayesha Malik to deliver her keynote address.

ADB, UNEP, and USAID Reducing Demand for Wildlife also launched the concept for the Judicial Master Class series which will provide a unique platform to workshop the outcomes of seminal regional jurisprudence in small group settings using virtual platforms. 

Visit the conference page.