18 October 2019
GRIPS Policy Research Network on Contemporary Southeast Asia (PRN-SEA)
Research Cluster on the Environment
Building Resilient Communities: Managing Waste and Climate Change Impacts in SoutheastAsia
CONCEPT NOTE [DRAFT]
Time Table2019• December/ January 2020: Kick off meeting• December: Book proposal
2020• January 31: Deadline to submit chapter title and draft abstract• February: Co-editors finalize book proposal• September: deadline to submit the draft of each chapter• October: co-editors summarize the chapter and write a draft concluding chapter withpolicy recommendation• November: Second meeting where we discuss each chapter draft and concluding
chapter draft and set up the schedule ahead
Background
Mega cities in Southeast Asia are experiencing rapid economic growth, which entails various
environmental problems. Expanding population leads to increase in consumption of energy andgoods, ultimately resulting in inadequate waste management as well as urban development
unprepared for natural disasters.
Plastic pollution and international waste trade is an area where research is gaining politicalattention in recent years. In 2017, China, which had become the world’s largest importer ofrecyclables, decided to severely restrict the imports of solid waste from overseas. The impactof this was that most of the waste was channeled to Southeast Asia. For example, within monthsof the import restrictions implementation, Malaysia had replaced China as the world’s largest
importer of plastic scrap. At its peak in March 2018, Malaysia had imported about 139,000
tons of plastic waste per month, up from 22,000 tons per month a year earlier.
While this subject has developed mainly as an environmental issue, it also contains otheraspects that need to be examined thoroughly. From an international trade perspective, blanketbans on imported materials potentially risks damaging the business of good recyclers which
may in turn affect supply chain in other industries such as cement where cement kilns utilize
plastic waste as replacement for fossil fuel. These bans also risk customs and trade disputes
between different countries especially between Southeast Asia and mainly Western anddeveloped nations. This may then potentially spark other disputes in other areas, further
perpetuating the current wave of populist and protectionist trends globally. From an
institutional perspective, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movementsof Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (“the Basel Convention”) has been in effect since1992. Further to that, 187 countries agreed to control the movement of plastic waste between
national borders by adding plastic to the Basel Convention. Additionally, there is the World

18 October 2019
Customs Organization which has taken steps to fight against illegal transboundary movementsof waste such as through Operation DEMETER IV. However, more needs to be done toestablish harmonized custom codes that accurate classify waste materials.
Domestically, the challenge is dependent on the capability of local waste governance to address
the issue. As importing countries, governance of waste is often mired in fragmentation withdifferent agencies responsible for different parts of the waste cycle. Towards building resilient
communities, applying best practices for a holistic management of waste is required. More
broadly, the need for countries to transition towards a circular economy and a sustainable formof consumption and production needs to be investigated.
[RSIS to add section on smart cities]
Another urgent topic is risks related to impact of climate change. Climate change has been oneof most serious threats at global level. Recently, increasing number of extreme weather events
have been observed all over the world. Southeast Asia has been hit by strong hurricanes thathave lead to floods and displacement of the people. There has already been much researches
on likely increase in extreme weather events in the region, there are much less studies on socioeconomic aspect of such events. After hit by typhoons or floods, the region suffers for months
due to social disruptions arose by physical damages. They are loss of settlements, loss of jobs,
displacement of the people, and plausible conflict caused by these social instabilities.
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Working Group 2 set a chapter on human security, which dealt with socio-economic aspect ofclimate change. Similar chapter is to be included in the next assessment report as well. Much
literature can be found for case studies conducted in Africa and Middle East on climate security– or climate fragility risks - but little is found for Southeast Asia. There are tremendous needs
for such literature to be published for the next IPCC report to be comprehensive in terms
regional distribution.
Objectives
As this research cluster is established for the purposes of identifying key policy challenges inSoutheast Asia, gather and harness regional expertise, raise public awareness on the said issue,
and provide policy recommendations, hence we have identified three key objectives that need
to be met in order to better ensure a stable and peaceful Southeast Asia:•••Understand the current situation and governance challenges within the Southeast
Asia region;
Understand the international dynamics including key institutions, trade and security;
andProduce policy recommendations for a regional response to the issue of waste inSoutheast Asia.

As for research on waste management, adding the governance perspective into the picture,
there are two levels that need to be examined. While international governance has beenhighlighted through the Basel Convention and the World Customs Organization, there is alsoa need to consider the importance of local governance on the management and movement ofwaste. Local governments and municipals play a major role in implementing the import bans

18 October 2019and ensuring that illegal waste dump sites do not mushroom. However, these remain to beprevalent challenges for governments and authorities at all levels to manage.
Therefore, this emerging issue of waste in Southeast Asia brings forth important questions thatneed to be answered in order to develop appropriate responses for the region:••••

Why has Southeast Asia become the go-to place for exporting waste from developednations?
What are the local and international challenges faced by each country in Southeast
Asia in dealing with waste?
What are the current actions being taken by countries in Southeast Asia to mitigate
the issue of waste and transition towards a circular economy?
Who are the key actors, institutions and sectors involved in the movement anddumping of waste between different countries?

As for climate change risks, experts in climate change risks in Southeast Asian countries should
be gathered to discuss research questions as follows:• How can Southeast Asian countries prepare for climate change-related risks, which
are not only physical risks but also could be social, economic, or political?
• What are the current actions being taken by countries in Southeast Asia to mitigate
the issue of climate change risks, and have they been successful?
• What are the local and international challenges faced by each country in Southeast
Asia in dealing with climate change risks?
• Who are the key actors, institutions and sectors involved in building resilience against
climate change risks? How can Japan get involved in such activities?
[RSIS to add questions on smart cities / building resilient communities]
Collaborators• ISIS Malaysia (as lead coordinator of the environment cluster)• GRIPS• RSIS• CSIS
Proposed Authors (Managing Waste component)• Alizan Mahadi, Senior Fellow, ISIS Malaysia• RSIS (To be identified by RSIS)• CSIS (To be identified CSIS)• Dr. Michikazu Kojima, Senior Economist, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN andEast Asia (ERIA)
Projected Output• 1 internal coordination meeting between collaborators and contributors• 1 roundtable/workshop• 1 book or report that includes policy recommendations