ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity 2009

ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity 2009
Southeast Asia occupies only three percent of the earth’s surface, but contains over 20 percent of all known plant, animal, and marine  Species. Three of the world’s mega-diverse countries are in the region – Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.  This richness makes the region a crucial component of global environmental sustainability.

What is the current status of biodiversity in the ASEAN region? What are the challenges facing Southeast Asia’s natural treasures and how do these affect the lives of over 500 million people?  What can we do to conserve biodiversity? These and more questions will be addressed at the ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity (ACB2009) on 21 to 23 October 2009 in Singapore.

To be hosted by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the National Parks Board (NParks) of Singapore, ACB2009 is envisioned to be one of 2009’s most important gatherings of key biodiversity stakeholders and players in the ASEAN region who will discuss emerging trends, issues, and concerns on biodiversity  Conservation and management.

Why a conference on biodiversity?
The ASEAN region is home to four of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots which are characterized both by exceptional levels of plant and animal endemism and by serious levels of  Habitat loss. Forest conversion, forest fires, shifting cultivation, large-scale mining, wildlife hunting and trading, population growth and poverty,  Climate change, and lack of appropriate conservation management policies all contribute to habitat destruction and the consequent loss of biological diversity. Biodiversity loss could trigger enormous effects on health and wealth. There is a need to unify efforts from all fronts to save and conserve biodiversity.

In 1992, the first global agreement for the conservation of biological diversity, the  Sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of the genetic resources was signed by 153 parties at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. To date, all 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS) ‐ Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam are Parties to this Treaty.

At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the Parties to the CBD committed themselves to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national levels as a contribution to poverty alleviation, and to the benefit of all life on Earth. The 2010 Biodiversity Target was subsequently endorsed by the WSSD and the United Nations General Assembly, and was incorporated as a new target under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

As 2010 draws near, the 2010 Biodiversity Target needs to be assessed and progress made has to be reported to the global community. ACB2009 will be held in preparation for the 10th Conference of Parties (CoP10) in Nagoya in 2010. ACB2009 will provide a forum for exchanging perspectives on initiatives that address biodiversity issues in the region, and discussing steps forward in advancing the ASEAN biodiversity agenda within the context of the 2010 Biodiversity Target.

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