Articles Category: Environment

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded everyone how important care work is to daily life. When schools closed, and hospitals filled up, it was often women and girls who stepped up at home. Their contributions made a big difference, yet these responsibilities o

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

Officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) walked into the headquarters of the Viet Nam Competition Commission (VCC) on 28 August 2025 with a clear mission: to strengthen consumer protection s

Inclusion as a buzzword has grown louder in recent years. While inclusive progress has already been made in some sectors, such as public service or transportation, attention should also be paid to inclusion in the private sector. Businesses have to pro

From the moment we wake up until we fall asleep, we spend much of our time staring at screens. The line between our digital and physical lives has all but blurred, shaping how we work, study, communicate with loved ones, shop, and even commute each day

MALAYSIA ASEAN CHAIRMANSHIP 2025 INCLUSIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY On 1 January 2025, Malaysia assumed the Chairmanship of ASEAN for the fifth time, marking a decade since its last leadership role. Coincidentally, this year marks the end of the ASEAN Comm

On 11 October 2024, Ekkaphab Phanthavong officially completes his tenure as the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Before assuming his role at the ASEAN Secretariat, he was the Ambassador/Permanent Representative

During its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, Indonesia advanced the One Health Initiative as a key deliverable. Health Minister Budi G. Sadikin offers invaluable insights into Indonesia’s efforts to champion the One Health approach, highlighting its strategi

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2024 and the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM), Lao PDR has set a significant agenda under the theme “Health: Transforming ASEAN Health Development Resilience in a New Context.” In this interview, Minister Bounfeng Phoummal

Bullying of children is becoming a pervasive concern in the region. Director General Luu Quang Tuan shares with The ASEAN, some of the initiatives started by ASEAN to protect children from bullying, both online and offline.

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

A group of mothers and grandmothers from Wates village, Majalengka, West Java, who bear the financial responsibility of keeping their households afloat, have banded together to form Mother Bank. Co-created by the artist Bunga Siagian, 37, Mother Bank i