ADB Supported the Creation of First-of-its-Kind Asia Pacific Judges Network on the Environment (AJNE)

ADB supported the establishment of the Asia Pacific Judges Network on the Environment (AJNE), a dynamic forum committed to providing capacity building, multilateral exchanges, and knowledge sharing on environmental adjudication, common challenges, and best practices. 

AJNE connects judges from over 30 countries and is supported by hundreds of "champion green judges" not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but across the world. Since its inception in 2010, AJNE judiciaries have made landmark decisions which have helped give a platform to Asia-Pacific voices in the global discourse on environmental and climate governance. The region’s contribution to global case law has also been internationally recognized. Influential cases include: 

• In 2015, the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered a private sector organization to pay damages for carbon emissions, environmental damage, and biodiversity restoration after illegally burning local peatlands (Pt Kalista Alam v. Ministry of Environment).  

• In 2018, the Nepal Supreme Court ordered the government to pass and implement a climate change law and policy (Shrestha v. Nepal).  

• In 2021, the Bangladesh Supreme Court's High Court Division ordered the government to formulate a renewable energy law and relevant ministries to expedite clean power generation and protect biodiversity (BELA v. Bangladesh). In the same year, the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled against a cement company when it challenged an amended environmental regulation that would affect underground water aquifers. The Supreme Court took climate change considerations into account and ruled in favor of the nation’s water security (DG Khan Cement v. Pakistan). 

Expressing praise for the network, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) described AJNE as a practical and innovative initiative that “serve[s] to inform and educate actors working in the field, enabling them to replicate the positive results achieved, as well as create good practices."