Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 25 of 57 BACK | NEXT I. The Changing Environment II. Driving Forces of Change III. Options and Opportunities Adoption of Proven Policy Alternatives Development Investment Opportunities New Urban-Industrial Investment Opportunities Development and Deployment of New Technologies Advances in Energy Use and Supply Strengthening the Societal Drivers of Improved Environmental Performance Civil Society and Public Pressure Globalization and Environment Courts Enhanced Inclusive Governance and Institutional Reform Regional and International Governance Building Opportunities for Policy Integration IV. Toward Policy Integration V. Call to Action

Asian Environment Outlook 2001 : III. Options and Opportunities

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Civil Society and Public Pressure

Public pressure is a powerful driver of improved environmental performance, especially when local communities are mobilized to monitor and hold accountable potential polluters (see Box 3-6). Such public pressure is predicated in part on the availability of information on environmental performance and on the disclosure of this information in ways that are understandable within the communities. The ability to gather and publish information is key to educating and informing the public and mobilizing action. For example, the publication in 1985 by South Korea’s first organized environmental group of results linking health problems in the community to cadmium contamination from the Onsan Industrial Complex alerted the public to the potential for pollution-related illnesses (Lee 1999).

Recent events within the region have highlighted the growing importance of NGOs acting as independent “watchdogs” that hold governments and corporations accountable for environmental performance. During the 1997 forest fires in Indonesia, for example, NGOs obtained and interpreted satellite imagery to demonstrate that most of the fires were started in corporate concession areas rather than by small farmers (Harwell 2000). In Cambodia, Global Witness exposed systematic illegal logging through the 1990s, and backed up their reports with detailed documentary and photographic evidence. In 2000, the Cambodian government acknowledged their expertise on logging issues by appointing them “as an independent monitor” to a newly established Forest Crimes Monitoring Unit.

The Internet and 24-hour news coverage by the media has also revolutionized civil society’s capacity for communication on environmental issues, enabling instant access to information and providing an international forum for environmental concerns (see Box 3-7). Not only has this transformed communication, it has also opened up a new range of networking and coalition building opportunities. There is also a growing phenomenon of “global public policy networks” that include NGOs, academic institutions, voluntary organizations, and media and government officials (Reinecke 1998). The knowledge revolution has enormous potential to empower people and communities, offering even remote communities a level of access to information and know-how previously unimaginable.

Effective environmental education is an essential building block to raising awareness, whether within the formal system of schools and educational institutions or more informal means. Incorporating environmental education into the formal school curriculum and providing adequate training for teachers should be an integral part of any national environmental policy. Knowledge is most effectively absorbed by a community when it is disseminated by groups whom local people trust. Community organizations and NGOs thus play a major role in supplementing the formal education system by providing educational materials and resources and channeling the community’s interest into action and behavioral changes (see Box 3-8).

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