Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to present the changing positions and the recent stances of environmental NGOs within the Japanese development aid framework by focusing on how environmental NGOs are affecting the policy-making dynamics and realization of the environment-driven development aid projects of Japan.

Paper long abstract:

Environmental and societal change issues are incrementally rising on national and regional agendas of the global society. This agenda transformation also affects the national and international development aid strategies and processes in the recent years. Japan, as one of the long-standing and top aid-providing countries, has also been experiencing the forces of this change within its` development aid framework. Another change within the Japanese development aid program is the shifting stance of the Japanese NGOs. Since environmental and societal change issues have been forcing any segment of the society, environmental NGOs are also taking their stances vis a vis the accelerating issues of environmental change and degradation.

This paper is then looking at the changing positions as well as the recent stances of environmental NGOs within the Japanese development aid framework by focusing on how environmental NGOs are affecting the policy-making dynamics and realization of the environment-driven development aid projects of Japan. Most of the cases are taken from the environmentally challenged cycles of the Southeast Asia socio-economic clusters since an important part of the Japanese development aid has been channeling towards this region.

The first part of the paper looks at the changing direction of development and development aid framework of Japan with emphasis on the forces of environmental and societal change issues. Then the paper focuses on Japan`s ODA policies and environmental forces that transformed the ODA strategies in recent years by also presenting the changing position of NGOs within the overall aid framework. The last part examines how the Japanese environmental NGOs have influenced the Japanese development aid agenda by giving examples of various cases from Southeast Asia.