Institutionalizing regional environmental governance in Northeast Asia : roles of actors, knowledge and interests

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This thesis analyzes the institutional process of environmental governance in Northeast Asia by focusing on the dynamics of two main governance factors (national interest and knowledge) and the roles of nonstate actors (international organizations and nongovernmental organizations) in the process. In exploring these governance determinants, this thesis examines the current state of regional governance in Northeast Asia and transboundary environmental governance in the Tumen River Area; the political and institutional implications of major governance mechanisms; links between the progress in understanding of environment problems and the political process of governance; and the potential and limitations of nonstate actors.
Two forms of interdependence in Northeast Asia make up the basis of regional environmental governance: ecological interdependence, what links countries geographically and socio-economically in relation to regional marine and atmospheric environments, and complex interdependence, growing webs of political, social and economic interactions, which are the main driving force for institutionalizing collective actions on regional environmental problems. Although states are now politically motivated to create multilateral environmental mechanisms in the forms of meetings and regimes, different national interests, where foreign policy often overrides environmental policy, have delayed the institutionalization of these mechanisms.
State actors and their national interests mainly shape the form and content of regional governance in Northeast Asia, but nonstate actors and scientific knowledge also have decisive roles. International organizations have functioned as the main catalysts of various governance mechanisms although their performance declines due to limited administrative capacities. New to the scene, NGOs have not traditionally acted as stakeholders of formal mechanisms, but they have started to expand the scope of environmental governance by executing their own domains of governance.
Despite the existence of governance mechanisms, Northeast Asia has insufficient consensual knowledge of the state of their regional environmental problems as demonstrated by varying results of scientific assessments. Building epistemic communities of scientists and other nonstate actors (international organizations and NGOs) is vital to promote the objective role of knowledge in institutional processes, especially in light of the asymmetry between knowledge and each governance mechanism and the politicization of scientific knowledge to justify national interests.
The Tumen River Area also exemplifies the pattern of regional environmental governance in Northeast Asia with few exceptions. Despite formal devices of governance addressing transboundary environmental issues such as biodiversity and the pollution of the Tumen River, the outcomes have been meager. Heterogeneities in national interest have essentially impeded governance implementation, while the participation and capacities of local actors have often been restricted despite their importance to the narrowly defined region. International organizations have successfully initiated multilateral mechanisms for environmental governance but face difficulties in implementing them due partly to their organizational nature. Although NGOs mostly remain outside the formal mechanisms of governance, they at least have been able to take concrete actions to protect the environment by acting independently in many instances. This thesis concludes with theoretical and empirical lessons for future discourse.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• ABSTRACT = ii
• Acknowledgements = vi
• Table of Contents = ix
• List of Acronyms = xii
• Part I. Introduction = 1
• Chapter 1. Introduction = 2
• 1. Regional Environmental Governance and Northeast Asia = 3
• 2. Current Discourses on Regional Environmental Governance of Northeast Asia = 6
• 3. Need for New Research and Approach = 9
• 4. Structure of This Thesis = 12
• Chapter 2. Toward Analytical Frameworks: governing ecological interdependence and determinants in governance = 18
• 1. Introduction = 18
• 2. Collective Actions and Governance = 19
• 3. Factors in the Rise and Evolution of Environmental Governance = 28
• 4. Roles of Nonstate Actors in Environmental Governance = 39
• 5. Conclusions = 56
• Chapter 3. Method = 58
• 1. Introduction = 58
• 2. Methodological Implication = 58
• 3. Required Information and Method of Data Collection = 61
• 4. Caveats = 67
• Part II. Regional Environmental Governance in Northeast Asia = 70
• Chapter 4. Institutionalizing the Environment in Northeast Asia = 71
• 1. Introduction = 71
• 2. Northeast Asia: building a region = 72
• 3. Ecological Interdependence in Northeast Asia = 77
• 4. Complex Interdependence and Environmental Governance = 82
• 5. NGOs in Regional Governance = 93
• 6. Conclusions = 101
• Chapter 5. Institutionalization of Governance and National Interests = 103
• 1. Introduction = 103
• 2. Regional Environment and Embedded National Interests = 105
• 3. The Practices of Intertwined Politics in Governance = 116
• 4. International Organizations in Intertwined National Interests = 138
• 5. NGOs in Formal Mechanisms = 147
• 6. Conclusions = 151
• Chapter 6. Knowledge and Regional Environmental Governance = 154
• 1. Introduction = 154
• 2. Knowledge and Governance = 156
• 3. Knowledge and Contesting National Interests = 169
• 4. Conclusions = 176
• Part III. Transboundary Environmental Governance in the Tumen River Area = 178
• Chapter 7. Tumen River Area: economic multilateralism and transboundary environmental governance = 180
• 1. Introduction = 180
• 2. The Tumen River Area and Subregional Development Cooperation = 181
• 3. Ecological Interdependence in the Tumen River Area = 193
• 4. Conclusions = 202
• Chapter 8. National Interests and Capacities in Environmental Governance in the Tumen River Area = 204
• 1. Introduction = 204
• 2. Environmental Governance in the Tumen River Area = 205
• 3. The Dynamics of National Interest and Local Capacity = 212
• 4. Conclusions = 236
• Chapter 9. Role of Nonstate Actors in Environmental Governance in the Tumen River Area = 239
• 1. Introduction = 239
• 2. International Organizations: source of leadership or barrier = 240
• 3. NGOs: linking local and global endeavors = 248
• 4. Conclusions = 265
• Part IV. Conclusions = 268
• Chapter 10. Conclusions = 269
• 1. Introduction = 269
• 2. Review of Major Governance Factors and Actors = 270
• 3. Theoretical and Empirical Lessons for Environmental Governance = 279
• 4. Recommendations for Future Research = 291
• 5. Concluding Remarks = 292
• References = 295