Environmental cooperation in Northeast Asia

The future quality of the environment in Northeast Asia will depend not only on the level of national attention paid to pollution control and environmental protection, but also to the effectiveness of cooperation and policy coordination among states at the regional level. It will be very difficult for Northeast Asia to develop quickly effective regional regimes for environmental protection because of the differences that exist among the states in the region in terms of economic levels, policy priorities, and political systems. Still, as environmental protection becomes more important in the region, regional environmental cooperation is emerging. It is a loose form of environmental cooperation that is enhancing dialogue among states of the region.