By Natalie Ang, Advocate and Solicitor, Y. H. Teh & Quek
The 37th LAWASIA Conference 2024 took place from 13 to 15 Oct 2024 at Hilton Kuala Lumpur.
Environmental issues have been worsening globally, significantly impacting communities around the world. The LAWASIA session titled “Harm to Coastal Environments,” moderated by Robert White, opened with an introduction of the four esteemed speakers and an outline of the topics they would cover for the session.
The session began with a presentation by Dr Judith Preston titled “Coasts and Communities under Climate Pressure in Australia and the Pacific”, in which she explored the impact of climate change on coastal communities in these regions. She pointed out the inadequacies of existing legal frameworks in addressing the impact of climate change, particularly in Australia and the Pacific region. She also linked her presentation to human rights, highlighting its significance in addressing climate issues and the role of civil society in driving climate action. Dr Judith Preston concluded her presentation by stressing the importance of indigenous and local communities in climate mitigation, while introducing several initiatives and proposals from the Asia Pacific region.
The second speaker, Gulnar Mistry from India, shared insights from her experience in India. She focused on the dilution of environmental protection, particularly the Coastal Regulation Zone (“CRZ”) notifications, which were initially intended to demarcate coastal areas. She highlighted how lax enforcement, tourism-related relaxation, and government action, such as office memorandums legalising violations, had led to environmental degradation and weakened protections. Ms. Mistry concluded her presentation by emphasising the need for the courts to hold government officials accountable for environmental violations.
The next speaker, Deborah Lockhart, CEO of the Australian Disputes Centre, discussed the increasing use of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) processes in the Asia Pacific region in addressing environmental disputes. She acknowledged the complexity of environmental disputes in coastal zones due to their broad impact on communities, corporations and nations. Deborah Lockhart presented three case studies — Blue Carbon Justice in China; Legal Personhood for the Whanganui River in New Zealand; and CLAIM in Cambodia, highlighting the flexibility and potential of ADR in promoting environmental justice. She concluded her presentation by encouraging environmental lawyers and ADR practitioners to remain proactive and embrace opportunities arising from new developments in environmental law, particularly through ADR.
The final speaker of this session, Donna Craig, presented on the topic titled “Recognition of Indigenous Rights in Governance of Marine Protected Areas”, focusing on the development of Indigenous Protected Areas (“IPAs”) in Australia. She explained that the aim of IPAs is to provide environmental, cultural, social and economic benefits through partnerships between traditional owners and the Government of Australia. However, she emphasised the need for additional resources, expertise and advice to further develop IPAs, while expressing her concern that external expertise should not overwhelm the indigenous cultural values. Donna Craig concluded her presentation by underscoring the need for rigorous evaluation of legal and institutional frameworks to ensure effective implementation and protection of indigenous rights.
In response to concerns about the solitary struggle of a lawyer advocating for environmental protection in Mumbai, Gulnar Mistry emphasised the need for decisive and conclusive judgements to advance legal efforts to safeguard the environment. Dr Judith Preston also highlighted the importance of public interest in supporting environmental litigation.
In concluding the session, Robert White stressed the value of hearing from experts across different jurisdictions regarding the challenges in their respective countries. He added that this session included not only insightful presentations, but also engaging debates on potential solutions to environmental issues.