Asia's courts failing to enforce environmental laws--lawyers

By Michael Casey

Associated Press

First Posted 16:44:00 01/14/2008

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Corruption and a lack of political will are hampering efforts to enforce laws protecting the environment in the Asia-Pacific region, lawyers at a United Nations-sponsored conference said Monday.

While several countries such as Australia and India have set up courts to deal with environmental issues, political interference has blunted efforts to improve the environment, the lawyers said.

"It's a sad situation. We have the laws. Compliance is not there," said M. C. Mehta, an Indian attorney who works in India's Supreme Court.

Mehta and other lawyers spoke on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific environmental conference in the Thai capital, Bangkok, which runs through Wednesday. More than 85 judges, lawyers and government officials from 40 countries are attending.

Antonio Oposa Jr., a Filipino environmental lawyer, said the balance in the Philippines remains firmly on the side of economic growth with authorities looking for solutions "in terms of money."

"Not even one percent of the (200) environmental laws are being implemented," Oposa said of the Philippines. "Many local governments, if not all, are hardly aware of these laws. It's mainly because of ignorance. They don't even know what the law is."

Masa Nagai, a senior legal officer with the United Nations Environment Program, said he hoped the conference would boost efforts among judges in the region to improve environmental justice and raise awareness about the judiciary's role in protecting the environment.

"One of the weaknesses is enforcement at the national level," Nagai said. "We want to keep supporting efforts in countries to have better capacity and awareness at the national level."