Following the adoption of the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment at the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Greenpeace Southeast Asia (GPSEA) called for urgent implementation through a Regional Plan of Action (RPA) to provide tangible, rights-based protections for communities and environmental defenders.
At a media and diplomatic briefing co-organised by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Greenpeace, GPSEA stressed that while the declaration marks a milestone, it remains non-legally binding. ASEAN Member States must translate its principles into enforceable national laws and regional mechanisms.
H.E. Edmund Bon, Chair and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, who led the drafting process, highlighted the upcoming RPA as the true test of ASEAN’s commitment to protecting environmental rights. YB Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad, former Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, emphasised the need for a shift in mindset to prioritise people and the planet, including concrete measures such as amendments to Environmental Impact Assessment processes, stricter enforcement and judicial empowerment.
GPSEA urged ASEAN to address the lack of clear obligations, measurable targets and enforcement mechanisms, while ensuring corporate accountability and tackling transboundary environmental challenges. Heng Kiah Chun, Campaign Lead at Greenpeace Malaysia, said ASEAN must confront pollution, biodiversity loss and corporate impunity with clear timelines, accountability and protection for environmental defenders.
Fajri Fadhillah, Senior Regional Campaign Strategist at GPSEA, added that ASEAN Member States must enhance access for vulnerable communities, including Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), to participate in the development and implementation of the declaration and align it with multilateral environmental agreements.
Key steps announced for the RPA include cross-sectoral collaboration to address transboundary issues, mobilisation of technical expertise to close implementation gaps and stronger participation of vulnerable groups in decision-making processes.
Speakers at the forum included Veerawit Tianchainan, Executive Director of GPSEA; Fajri Fadhillah; Heng Kiah Chun; H.E. Anita Wahid, AICHR Representative of Indonesia; Nik Nazmi; H.E. Edmund Bon; and Astrid Jovanna Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
GPSEA and civil society partners reaffirmed their commitment to engage ASEAN institutions to ensure transparency, accountability and effective implementation of environmental rights across Southeast Asia.
