Feature Story: Environmental Law in Southeast Asia
by: Professor John Copeland Nagle
John N. Matthews Professor of Law
Borneo is home to some of the most incredible displays of biodiversity in the world. It is also the center of the Malaysian logging industry. I recently spoke about this tension at the invitation of the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). In my talk, I considered some of the struggles experienced by developing nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam (where I had just interviewed officials working with several environmental NGOs), and China (where I have taught and lectured about environmental issues at numerous venues during the past fifteen years). Each of those countries is pursuing the elusive goal of a sustainable development which will allow for needed economic growth while preserving their amazing biological heritage. I compared the efforts of those developing countries to the United States, which has experienced its own ongoing debates about the efficacy of the federal Endangered Species Act. My talk was attended by nearly 50 academics, students, and local officials, and I was privileged to give my host a copy of the coursebook that I have co-authored on the law of biodiversity. I was then able to experience some of Borneo’s wildlife myself during a two-day visit to nearby Bako National Park, which was Malaysia’s first national park.
My visit to Borneo occurred while I am serving this semester as a Fulbright distinguished scholar at the University of Hong Kong. During my time here, I have taught in several classes at the university, and in the upcoming weeks I will be lecturing elsewhere in Hong Kong, in Macau, and at eight different universities in China. The topics that I will address include the American response to climate change, the role of religion in environmental law, how courts decide elections, and the image of pornography polluting the internet. I will also be discussing some of the ideas that I am developing in my book “Law’s Environment: How the Law Actually Affects the Environment,” which will be published by Yale University Press later this year.
This has been a fascinating time to be in Hong Kong. The city is poised between the rest of China, where events are gaining worldwide attention in the months leading up to the Beijing Olympics, and the rest of southeast Asia, where many cultures and religions and peoples are working to engage in a global society while preserving their traditions, their land, and their biological heritage. Hong Kong itself is struggling to adapt its society and its legal system to the paradox of its British heritage and its current Chinese rule. I am privileged to be discussing so many important questions here at this auspicious time, just as I am eager to bring many new insights back to Notre Dame when I return in July.
For more information on Professor Nagle, visit his faculty profile page
