International Conference on
Regional Cooperation for the Protection of the Marine Environment
15–16 January 2019, Singapore

Protection of the marine environment in Southeast Asia faces particular challenges, some of which may be more effectively resolved through the cooperative efforts of the states in the region. This conference was held to investigate cooperative mechanisms by the numerous existing regional bodies and possible ways forward to improve the state of the marine environment in the region.

The NUS Centre for International Law (CIL) hosted an international conference in Singapore on 15–16 January 2019.

It brought together experts in this area to discuss the current international and regional arrangements and possible governance models and best practices from other regions. At the conference, plastics and ship source pollution were also discussed as key marine environmental issues in Southeast Asia. The particular challenges of the region were explored, including legal and political issues, the role of science and financial assistance. The final discussion centred on the way forward and protects for enhanced cooperation within ASEAN.

The conference was being organised with the support of the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, UiT Arctic University of Norway.

A copy of the conference report can be downloaded from here.

Presentation Slides

Panel 1: Background and Legal Framework
Session 1, Legal Background: International Framework – Aldo Chircop
Session 2, Legal Background: Regional Legal Framework – Nilufer Oral

Panel 2: Institutional Background
Session 1, ASEAN and ASEAN-Related Bodies – Soparatana Jarusombat, Dita Liliansa 
Session 2, Other Global and Regional Bodies and initiatives – Youna Lyons

Panel 3: Governance Models (1)
Session 1, The Mediterranean Model – Irini Papanicolopulu 
Session 2, The Arctic Model – Elise Johansen, Ingvild Jakobsen (commentator)

Panel 4: Governance Models (2)
Session 1, The Coral Triangle Initiative  – Sharifah Nora
Session 2,  The Caribbean Model – Michelle Scobie, Nengye Liu (commentator)

Panel 5: Key Issues (1)
Session 1, Ship Source Pollution: Current State of Play in Southeast Asia – Robert Beckman 
Session 2, Panel on Ship Source Pollution: Possible Models – Brenda Pimentel, Cheryl Rita Kaur and Mohd Fairoz Rozali

Panel 6: Key Issues (2)
Session 1, Plastics and Land-based Pollution: Current State of Play in Southeast Asia- Karen Raubenheimer 
Session 2, Panel on Plastics and Land-based Pollution: Possible Models – Daud Hassan, Linda Finska

Panel 7: Challenges and Prospects in the Region
Session 1, Legal and Political Challenges and Prospects – Jay Batongbacal, Muhammad Taufan 
Session 2, The Role of Science – Chou Loke Ming 
Session 3, Funding sources and donors – Torsten Thiele 
Session 4, Role of NGOs – Sharifah Nora