Singapore has long relied on neighbouring Malaysia to supplement its limited water supply. Indeed, the island state would have imported up to 50% of its waters (Chung, 2011) with a view to concluding two bilateral agreements with Malaysia (before the expiry of one in August 2011); the second agreement expires in 2061 (Singapore Public Utilities Board (PUB)). In an attempt to address water-related issues, Singapore has streamlined decision-making powers regarding water management under the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), which has since developed important goals, for example. B increased water supply from non-conventional sources (e.g.B. recovery and desalination) to cover 30-50% of future water needs by 2060 and to increase daily domestic water consumption per capita to 38 by 2020, with 8 gallons (147 l) and 37 gallons (140 gallons l) to be reduced by 2030. Bilateral agreements increase trade between the two countries. They open markets to thriving sectors. If businesses benefit, they create jobs. EFTA[17] has concluded bilateral agreements with the following countries – including dependent areas – and blocs: it also seems likely that the US would also try to renegotiate the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) adopted in 2012 through a similar process. In Seoul, Vice President Mike Pence told a group of economic leaders last week that the U.S.-South Korea trade relationship must change because U.S. companies „face too many barriers to entry, which is tipping the ground against American workers,“ according to the Financial Times. Private financial incentives for illegal logging and the timber trade are immense.
In the absence of bilateral agreements (e.g.B. Wto international trade rules allow the free importation of illegally felled and traded timber without penalty. In the absence of such agreements, including effective implementation, it is highly unlikely that governments in the region will avoid intra-regional and international human trafficking. In this case, external action may be the best or only alternative. Chinese companies are clearly the dominant importer of what is clearly identified as a massive illegal timber trade, and the steps taken by the Chinese government to stop it could offer the best hope for preserving the Mekong`s forests and the global heritage of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. . . .