The intertwined threats of biodiversity loss and a rapidly changing climate cast a long shadow across the globe, and the Asean nations are certainly not exempt. The question is, how will the 46th Asean Summit respond?
This region, home to roughly 25 per cent of the world’s flora and fauna, finds itself increasingly vulnerable to the ravages of climate change. We’re seeing ever more frequent and ferocious devastating cyclones, crippling floods, prolonged droughts, and a whole host of other climatological disasters sweeping across member states. And the cause? Humanity’s heavy-handed meddling with the natural world.
But Asean is more than a victim of these global crises, it is also a region of extraordinary potential. It is the world’s fifth-largest economy, and home to the largest concentration of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs & LCs) in the world. These communities are on the frontlines of both biodiversity stewardship and climate resilience. In Indonesia alone, AMAN (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara) has identified over 2,000 such member groups.
For millennia, these communities have been on the very front line, bearing the brunt of both climate change and the accelerating loss of biodiversity. Their deep and abiding connection to the environment is fundamental to their existence. Their forests and seas are far more than mere resources, they are home, pantry, and a cultural heritage beyond price.
The extractive economic model that has dominated since industrialisation treats nature as a simple commodity, an infinite resource ripe for exploitation.This model treats nature as infinite and growth as unbounded, but it is a system that has brought us to the brink of ecological collapse.
Now is the moment to ask: must Asean always follow external forces? Or will it finally assert its place in shaping the global narrative—one that is just, inclusive, and rooted in the wisdom and realities of its peoples?
The 46th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur, under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability,” must be more than a slogan. It must be a turning point. Asean leaders must show they are willing to act not only for global credibility, but for the real well-being of their people. That includes enshrining the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities as essential biodiversity stewards and environmental defenders, and rejecting the false choice between economic growth and environmental protection.
Call for Asean environmental rights
As Malaysia takes on the Asean Chairmanship in 2025, it has a unique opportunity to champion a bold, legally binding Asean Environmental Rights (AER) Framework. Such a framework would do more than protect natural ecosystems, it would protect the people most affected by environmental degradation. It would hold corporations accountable for transboundary haze and climate harm. And it would reaffirm that a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental human right for all.
Asean must also reconcile its political commitments with its foundational values. The region’s own Charter commits to human rights, social justice, and environmental sustainability. The spirit of the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference that was just celebrated last month, which united nations against colonialism and for global equality, must guide our actions today. As the Bandung Principles remind us: all nations, large and small, deserve equal dignity, and so do all peoples.
A southern alliance for Earth’s future
This Asean Summit coincides with COP30 of the UNFCCC, which will be held in Belém, Brazil, this coming November. This provides a golden opportunity to strengthen South-South collaboration on the climate agenda and the preservation of our planet.
A key point here is the pressing need to channel climate finance directly to indigenous communities. Brazil has introduced the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) ahead of COP30—a step that signals potential progress. While it moves away from market-based models that narrowly value carbon, it offers a broader approach by supporting forest protection as a whole. The TFFF model deserves Asean’s close attention and support but with critical safeguards. Forest degradation must not be overlooked. Counting selectively logged or degraded areas as “protected” risks undermining the Facility. Eligibility should require no loss in canopy cover or forest quality from a baseline year, with indicators like road development and large tree loss used alongside fire monitoring.
TFFF’s credibility relies on accurate forest condition monitoring. Just as important, Asean should advocate for direct, equitable finance access for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, empowering them as key partners in forest protection—not just recipients.
The road from Kuala Lumpur to Belém is not just a diplomatic path—it is a moral one. Will Asean choose to lead from the front, or continue to be reactive in the face of crisis? The region has the people, the knowledge, and the history to lead. What it needs now is courage.
Rayhan Dudayev is political lead for Greenpeace’s Global Forest Solution and Syahrul Fitra is project lead for Global Forest Solution.
