Prospects for effective marine governance in the NW Pacific region

What are the prospects for effective regional action to protect the NW Pacific from environmental harm? The article reviews governance lessons from existing regional marine protection regimes, in order to derive lessons for effective regional environmental protection. Prominent factors influencing effective regional environmental protection include the influence of public concern, NGOs, national leadership, international institutions and transnational scientific networks in establishing regional environmental governance. Yet, prospects are not promising for effective regional environmental governance in the NW Pacific. International institutions are weak; knowledge is only weakly organized, and appears difficult to mobilize, and no country appears willing to commit economic or diplomatic resources towards regional environmental leadership. The absence of transnational channels and institutional functions is a consequence of deeper regional realities. Few governments are interested in establishing strong regional institutions. Moreover, domestic circumstances that were necessary for effective institutional influence elsewhere in the world are absent the region. The most effective international institutions worked with civil society by amplifying pressures on governments, and by creating and reinforcing public concern. In this region these conditions are generally absent, calling for a deeper long-run strategy for effective governance.