In the lead-up to the seventh session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) – the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment – regional forums are meeting to enable governments and environmental policymakers to explore regional perspectives and identify issues of regional concern. The Sixth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific showed “strong convergence” on key environmental issues.
These include the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on small island developing States (SIDS), protection of marine biodiversity and ecosystems, and the urgency of concluding negotiations towards “a treaty to manage the whole lifecycle of plastics.”
The first to take place in the Pacific region, the Forum enjoyed an unprecedented level of participation from Pacific SIDS – government delegates and civil society representatives alike. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary report of the meeting notes that the Forum also took place at a pivotal moment in environmental governance. With the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in place, the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) is about to enter into force. A Fund on responding to Loss and Damage related to climate impacts has been established, though not yet fully capitalized. While negotiations towards a plastics treaty have stalled, an intergovernmental science-policy body on chemicals and waste has been created. In addition, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has clarified that States may be considered responsible for their failure to take measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), even outside the international climate regime.
Against this background, delegates underscored the need for policies, plans, and commitments to pivot towards implementation. ENB also notes that “[s]everal countries, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and many SIDS, sought to restart the plastics treaty negotiations in association with the UNEA process.”
Participants shared examples of successful approaches to addressing environmental challenges, including by establishing “blue corridors” to protect whale and turtle migration routes and rediscovering traditional and Indigenous approaches to ecosystem management. Integrative approaches to sustainable food systems and the environment-health nexus under the One Health approach, protected areas, and synergies on multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) implementation gained prominence during side events.
The Forum will forward resolutions to UNEA-7 on:
- Country-specific strategies to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, presented by the Republic of Korea;
- Accelerating global action to promote the climate resilience of coral reefs, presented by Fiji;
- Meaningful participation of children and youth in environmental and climate change action, presented by Sri Lanka;
- Strengthening global response on management of wildfires, presented by India; and
- Promoting synergies, cooperation, or collaboration for national implementation of MEAs presented by Japan.
Other resolutions from countries in the Asia-Pacific region may be developed before the 29 September 2025 deadline for the submission of resolutions for UNEA-7.
Themed, ‘Advancing Sustainable Solutions for a Resilient Planet,’ Sixth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific convened from 26-29 August in Nadi, Fiji. [ENB Coverage of Sixth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific]