Globalization, NGOs, and environmental governance in Northeast Asia

The global community is witnessing the growing importance of NGOs in local, national, and international spheres. NGOs increasingly penetrate into what had been an almost exclusive domain of the government. Transcending the territorial boundaries, they address a variety of global agendas such as the environment, grassroots development, and international security, which in turn force the state to seek partners in the civil society sector. This paper investigates the shifting relationship between the state and civil society in the provision of environment-related public goods. It also examines the emergence of environmental NGOs as qualified institutional alternatives or partners of the state in pursuit of environmental governance in Northeast Asia. It finally proposes developmental strategies of environmental NGOs for regional cooperation in environmental governance.