Articles Category: Environment

Circular economy has moved from niche sustainability circles to centre stage in global climate negotiations. At UNEA-7 in Nairobi in November 2025, member states deliberated on binding agreements to tackle plastic pollution and resource depletion. The

When the world’s leaders adopted the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, they set an ambitious goal of achieving prosperity that leaves no one behind. In that same year, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, chartin

In the heart of Cambodia, where the ancient stone spires of Angkor Wat reach towards the heavens, a different kind of monumental effort recently took place. The vibrant city of Siem Reap served as the backdrop for the 10th ASEAN Plus Three Junior Scien

Illegal wildlife trade is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Conservationists note that most trafficked species are already endangered or at-risk. Poaching and trafficking these species accelerate their depletion and damage the ecological balance.

Zoonotic threats emerge where humans, animals, and the environment interact—through livestock production systems, wildlife interfaces, food chains, markets, and ecological conditions that shape exposure opportunities. That is why One Health surveillanc

Biodiversity is essential for sustaining the lives of people, animals, plants, and microorganisms, and for creating healthy ecosystems that provide clean air and food. However, biodiversity is under threat from human activities, including overfishing,

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, first woman Prime Minister of Norway, pioneered the concept of sustainable development and shaped its early agenda. She is a founding member of The Elders, the group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reflects on his 10-year tenure as chief diplomat and development advocate, and the role that mutlilateralism plays in addressing ongoing and emerging global challenges.

Hugh Lim, Executive Director of Centre for Liveable Cities, weighs in on what it takes to build pandemic-proof and resilient cities based on the practices that worked and deficiencies that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. He discusses the benefits

ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi talks to The ASEAN on the qualities and benefits of smart cities, as well as the ongoing initiatives to support the region’s 26 major cities in developing, updating, and implementing their smart city action pla

Josefa is a member of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Steering Committee, representing indigenous and local youth. GYBN is the official youth constituency to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). She was named a National Geograp

The UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific, and UNESCO as a whole, and the UN system worldwide, have taken comprehensive action to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on education systems while acknowledging continuing challen

Gretel Seet Jia Xuan (25) is the Coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network Southeast Asia. Her interest in biodiversity began at the Festival of Biodiversity, organised by the Singapore National Parks Board. There, she discovered that Singap

Brikko Martillo Dumas, known as Bricx, is a 34-year-old Filipino artist, educator, and climate advocate. He was born in Leyte, in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas region, and moved to Manila as a teenager. When Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda)

Twenty-five-year-old Thae Eaindra Hsu was born and raised in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. Mawlamyine is known for its golden pagodas and its proximity to the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar site, a coastal wetland area recognised for its biodiversity and the

Mark Liao’s journey into biodiversity work began in 2017 when he joined the Borneo Eco-Warriors programme under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). He was 22 then when he latched onto this idea and, in the same year, established an e

Thirty-four-year-old Megawati, a community worker based in Wangi-wangi Island in Wakatobi Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, joined the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity’s Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems in the