Cooperation for forest protection in Southeast Asia: the role of Japan and its domestic interest groups
Cooperation for forest protection in Southeast Asia: the role of Japan and its domestic interest groups

Summary/Abstract: This article examines Japan’s role in advancing regional forest governance in Southeast Asia and reasons why the country, despite claiming environmental leadership, has not created a strong long-term institutional framework to promote sustainable forest management (SFM). The fi rst half of the article is dedicated to analyzing Asia Forest Partnership and bilateral agreements with Indonesia and Malaysia in the light of implementation of SFM. The second half examines Japan’s domestic interest groups and their attitudes towards SFM and cooperation for forest protection with the Southeast Asian countries. The article argues that the gap between Japan’s commitments and actual activities has not been closed in the most recent cooperation for forest protection in the region. One of the major reasons for that is the strength and resistance against the regulations of the Japanese companies that benefi t from the free trade of tropical timber.

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