TRANSFORMING ASIA

The report documents various grassroots initiatives by Friends of the Earth (FoE) groups in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on community forest management, social and solidarity economies, food rights, and renewable energy. It advocates for a systemic transformation of economic and political systems in the region to address the entwined crises of inequality and climate change, calling for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies and the protection of customary land rights.

• The Asia Pacific region faces dual crises of climate change and growing inequality, with the Asian Development Bank estimating that 1.75 billion people in the region live in extreme poverty.
• In Indonesia, FoE is promoting a community-led forest protection model based on subsistence farmers' land rights and traditional knowledge to combat high deforestation rates; the government has pledged 12.7 million hectares for Community based Forestry by 2019.
• FoE Australia promotes the 'Social and Solidarity economy' through models like the Melbourne Food Co-operative, which provides a democratic alternative to corporate business models and supports environmental campaigns.
• In Sri Lanka, a revolving fund created by CEJ/FoE and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature provides loans at a 1% interest rate to over 500 families in 10 villages, reducing dependence on high-interest moneylenders and improving forest management.
• FoE Timor Leste has established community-based eco-cultural tourism projects in Tutuala, Maubisse, and Laloran to diversify the economy away from oil and gas and provide sustainable income for rural communities.
• Legal action by FoE Nepal led the Supreme Court of Nepal to confirm a universal legal right to adequate food in 2011, and the right was explicitly recognized in the country's new constitution in 2015.
• In South Korea, FoE is supporting a citizen-owned solar movement, including cooperatives at Samgaksan high school and Hanshin University, to reduce reliance on nuclear power.
• FoE Papua New Guinea uses legal action to challenge illegal land grabbing, noting that 5.2 million hectares of customary land have been alienated through the Special Agriculture and Business Lease (SABL) scheme.
• In Malaysia, FoE supports agroecology and chemical-free farming to reverse the detrimental health and environmental impacts of the 'Green Revolution', including the rehabilitation of degraded forests.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). TRANSFORMING ASIA. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Report_-Transforming-Asia-scaling-up-the-solutions.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. TRANSFORMING ASIA. n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Report_-Transforming-Asia-scaling-up-the-solutions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=TRANSFORMING ASIA |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Report_-Transforming-Asia-scaling-up-the-solutions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternationalndtransforming, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{TRANSFORMING ASIA}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Report_-Transforming-Asia-scaling-up-the-solutions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }