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COVID-19 Information Event in Dili

Timor-Leste: Political and Economic Development, and Government’s COVID-19 Response

Article
Over the last three years, Timor’s public discourse in Timor-Leste has been concentrated on the power struggle among the Dili-centered elites on the legitimacy to govern the country. This is a period where politics in Timor-Leste is characterized as “uncertain” as it does not offer long-term certainty for the country to move forward. The economic impacts of this political development is the economic stagnation, reflected in the GDP decline. COVID-19 adds another layers to the multitude of challenges that already existed.  
By Guteriano Neves

Recent Articles

Omnibus

Reading the Indonesian Omnibus Bill on Job Creation

Opinion
Recently, the Indonesian public has been shocked by the draft work of the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation / RUU Cipta Kerja. The Job Creation Bill consists of 15 chapters and 174 articles in a total of 1,028 pages. The government expects the House of Representatives to finish deliberating the omnibus bill on job creation by late August or early September, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Tuesday, 14 July 2020.
By Musri Nauli

Insect Atlas 2020

Facts and figures about friends and foes in farming

bee2

Native Honey Bees of Southeast Asia and Conservation Challenges

Article
The disappearance of the honey bee is widely publicized, especially in Europe and North America, with colony collapse disorder observed in apiaries of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Much less interest, however, has been paid to Southeast Asian native honey bees whose fate also deserves attention. This article explores the conservation challenges of the eight native honey bee species of Southeast Asia.
By Eric Guerin

Web-dossier at boell.de

bee

Pollinator-Friendly Yards: How You Can Help Protect Pollinators

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Apis

Our Alliance Next Door: We Need to Save Bees or Perish with Them

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Pollinators in Peril, Our Food System in Crisis, and the Potential for Restoration

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Infographics of the Insect Atlas

Insect Atlas 2020: ON INSECTS, AGRICULTURE AND THE WORLD

Interview Videos on Climate Change

Climate Crisis happened, we have to take action before it's too late.
Nguy Thi Khanh - Vietnam
We have to reduce plastic usage and consumption in our society.
Tara Buakamsri - Thailand

We are in a Climate Crisis and the way these big projects are coming at us, we need to counter this with our own development agenda.
Rayyan Hassan - The Philippines
For the rest of our life, fight hard in saving Mother Earth. That's the only chance that we have.
Dr. Dewi Candraningrum - Indonesia

Dossier: 70 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 - 2018

Click Here for Articles and Videos on 70 Years of UDHR

The UDHR and Migrant Workers Rights in ASEAN - Jolovan Wham

The UDHR and Human Rights in ASEAN - Dr. Dinna Wisnu

The UDHR and Democracy in ASEAN - Dr. Naruemon Thambhumpon

The UDHR and LGBTI Rights in ASEAN - Dr. Dédé Oetomo

Messages in the Social Media Bottle

Article
In the Southeast Asian region, the Philippines tops the list as the highest in terms of remittances from their exported labor. In 2015, the country received more than US$30 billion in remittances — which makes it the third highest in the entire world. While many of the emerging economies as well as industrialized nations rely on these remittances and foreign workers, many stories filter out from certain nations of exploitation and abuse inflicted upon these migrant workers.
By Jose Santos P. Ardivilla

Ecology & Social Justice

ADB

Asia Teetering at the Edge - Part II: The Banks, BRI and Recovery Loans

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la Trinidad

Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Communities Resisting Internationally Financed Development Projects

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Wind and Solar

Energy Transition in Southeast Asia and Vietnam's Role as ASEAN Chair 2020

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Lao

Enabling an Equal World for Indigenous Women in the Time of Climate Crisis

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Read more on Ecology & Social Justice

Democracy & Participation

thai-rainbow

Thai Cabinet Approves Civil Partnership Bill

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poster2

During a Pandemic, Singapore’s Election Shifts Online

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DFA

Filipino Seafarers Find Their Future – and Lives – Adrift

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Read more on Democracy & Participation

About the Foundation

Articles and Podcasts on 50 Years of ASEAN

Blogs

Air Quality Measurement - Click here to follow our station!

ASEAN explained in 5 Minutes

50 Years of ASEAN - Still Waiting for Social and Ecological Justice

Within 50 years of existence, ASEAN has made progress on environmental policies – at least on paper. On the ground, paradigms around economic development and growth still shape realities of the people who find it literally harder and harder to breathe.

Forest fires and the haze, daily traffic routines and large-scale industry make the extent of environmental damage in Southeast Asia visible. In this podcast series, we look behind ASEAN´s promises to be sustainable and people-oriented and find that the institution still falls short of social and ecological justice.

State of Democracy in Southeast Asia

Publication

Recent Publications

AIIB

Community Guide to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was established to provide financing for infrastructure projects across Asia. The bank hit the ground running in 2015 with a bold agenda to create a “lean, clean and green” multilateral development bank for the 21st century. That vision included a commitment to create an Environmental and Social Framework containing policies that would bind the bank, and standards that AIIB clients are expected to uphold in their projects. In late 2018, the AIIB took the next step towards accountability when it approved its policy for the Project-affected People’s Mechanism, which facilities dispute resolution or investigates the bank’s compliance with its environmental and social policies.

pdf
reporting asean

Reportage Around ASEAN-related Issues: A Tip Sheet

ASEAN. Journalists and editors might love it, hate it – or flee from being asked to work on stories related to it. But regionalism in the ASEAN region is a running story of public interest that is here to stay, so we might as well know the beast better, so to speak.

This tip sheet is an invitation to do just that, and take a deep dive into issues around ASEAN.

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cover-SLAPP.png

Recommendations on the Protection of Those who Exercise Their Rights and Freedoms from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participations

Study

Public participation is held to be a political principle and practice that forms an important basis of democratic society. The constitutions of Thailand, especially the 1997 Constitution, have guaranteed various rights and freedoms to create an opportunity for the public participation of the people, such as the freedom to express opinions, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, the right to petition, community rights and the right to participate in the management of resources.

pdf

Safeguarding People and the Environment in Chinese Investments (Second Edition): A Reference Guide for Advocates

This publication provides a practical guide to the policies, standards and guidelines for Chinese outbound investment. The updated guide builds on our 2017 edition, adding new details on the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s new vision for enhancing global connectivity, along with updates to administrative guidance from China’s central state agencies on outbound investment.  It also covers new guidelines on rubber, agriculture, infrastructure projects and more. The guide explains the key actors involved in Chinese overseas investment and describes the environmental and social standards and guidelines that apply. It provides practical tips on how these standards can be used in advocacy with relevant Chinese actors and institutions.

pdf
cover_afraid_of_thelight

Afraid of the Light: Unmasking the Discourse on Irregular Migration and Its Implications for Migration Governance in ASEAN

This paper attempts to investigate the issue of irregular migration in the ASEAN region. The space and attention given to a burgeoning reality of irregular migration is yet to be given its due space at national policy-level and regional discussions. The primary objective of the paper is to function as a baseline study for future advocacy on protection of the rights of undocumented migrants in the region. Primarily, it focuses on the governance of migration, or the lack thereof, by contextualising the current status of irregular migrants in major destination countries of the ASEAN region, being Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

pdf

ATLASES

Plastic Atlas 2019

Plastic Atlas

Plastic is ubiquitous: we use it for life-saving medical devices, clothing, toys and cosmetics; we use it in agriculture and industry. But we also know the growing risk of plastic waste in the environment, landfills and the oceans.

pdf

Agrifood Atlas – Facts and figures about the corporations that control what we eat

The list of the world’s largest 500 companies by turnover contains a huge number of firms engaged in agriculture and food. And the trend continues towards a further concentration of power. Agrifood corporations are driving industrialization along the entire global value chain, from farm to plate. Their purchasing and sales policies promote a form of agriculture that revolves around productivity. The fight for market share is achieved at the expense of the weakest links in the chain: farmers, and workers.

pdf

Soil Atlas: Facts and figures about earth, land and fields

We are using the world’s soils as if they were inexhaustible, continually withdrawing from an account, but never paying in. For it takes several thousand years to build a thin layer of fertile topsoil, but only an hour of heavy rain to lose it. The average European needs 1.3 hectares – two football pitches – to produce all of the food and other products he or she consumes each year. That is about six times more than is available to each Bangladeshi. Almost 60 percent of the area consumed by Europeans lies outside the European Union.

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Coal Atlas: Facts and figures on a fossil fuel

Global demand for coal is still rising: EU member states have been reluctant to take action against coal projects and continue to subsidize coal related business with almost 10 billion euros per year. King Coal also generates 43 percent of Germany’s total energy.

Our Coal Atlas contains the latest facts and figures on the use of coal and its environmental and social consequences. With more than 60 detailed graphics, the atlas illustrates the coal industry’s impact on nature, health, labour, human rights and politics.

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Meat Atlas

The publication sheds light on the impacts of meat and dairy production, and aims to catalyse the debate over the need for better, safer and more sustainable food and farming.

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