ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Framework

• In ASEAN’s organizational structure, environmental cooperation is under the ASCC.
• Environmental cooperation within ASEAN is overseen by AMME, managed by ASOEN, and
implemented through seven Working Groups under the ASOEN, supported by the ASEAN
Secretariat.
• ASEAN conducts international cooperation on the environment at all levels, from the global
to the regional to local levels, in a wide variety of formats, with a wide range of partners, and
covering a wide range of topics.
• The extensive range of ASEAN’s international cooperation on the environment indicates the
commitment of AMS to address these issues. These cooperation frameworks also play an
important role in enhancing the capacity of AMS to address environmental issues.
• The cumulative reporting burdens for MEAs and other cooperation frameworks with many
overlapping requirements can be challenging. A streamlined data collection, storage, and
analysis system should make these reporting requirements less burdensome.
• Some activities of the ASEAN Economic Community and Political and Security Community
are also related to the environment, especially related to energy. How to strengthen their
involvement with international environmental cooperation should be considered.
• Strengthen coordination among environmental cooperation frameworks at all levels and sectors
and among key stakeholders.
• Better coordination, as well as strengthening the substance of projects and programmes, will
require enhanced human resource capacity in the ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, especially Centres,
the ASEAN Secretariat, and national ministries of AMS.