UN Secretary-General appoints new CBD Executive Secretary

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on January 20 the appointment of Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, a national of Brazil, as Executive Secretary of...

Private sector to take active role in saving Indonesia’s natural heritage

  Representatives from the private sector, non-government organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and the Governments of the United States and Indonesia have rolled out a set of comprehensive...

ASEAN policy makers to discuss economic and biodiversity sustainability

Manila Dialogue on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, January 25-26 ASEAN policy makers discuss economic and biodiversity sustainability Senior environment, finance and economic experts from Brunei,...

Fast action climate mitigation measures to reduce pollutants

(Washington, DC, January 12, 2012) – A new study in science has identified 14 fast action measures to reduce air pollutants that can deliver major...

Wanted: youth leaders for the seas of East Asia

The East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2012 Secretariat recently launched the Call for Youth applicants for the Third EAS Youth Forum to be held in...

UN iPhone app highlights role of ecosystems in tackling climate change

How many mangroves does it take to offset a transatlantic flight? What consumer actions can we take to reduce damage to rainforests? Answers to these...

New international action on climate change

(Durban, December 11) – Countries meeting in Durban, South Africa, have delivered a breakthrough on the future of the international community’s response to climate change,...

Philippines supports ACB sustainability

The Philippines, host country to the headquarters of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), continues to provide operational funding support to the Centre to ensure...

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DID YOU KNOW?
Biodiversity is a source of livelihood to millions as the economy of many communities is driven by the use of species in industries such as biotechnology, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, ecotourism, and pharmaceuticals. Farmers derive their produce from the earth’s bounty. Communities benefit from the various jobs resulting from the presence of natural heritage sites. Workers in the billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry have steady sources of income because nature provides plants with medicinal value. In Southeast Asia, it is estimated that 80 percent of the income of the rural poor is derived from the local biodiversity. Wood remains the most common fuel throughout the region. In fact, much of the leap and development of the countries of ASEAN during the period of 1970 to 1990 is founded on the sale of commercial timber. People in Southeast Asia also earn from ecotourism, defined as “environmentally responsible travel and visitation to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature and for any accompanying cultural features that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local people.” Ecotourism provides alternative livelihoods, with local people standing first in line for employment in protected area management as guides, rangers, or staff. Other members of the local community may also earn from ecotourism by: providing lodging (renting out rooms or their homes; building inns and other accommodation facilities); renting out vehicles (cars, bicycles and motorcycles, boats); selling provisions (convenience or variety stores); cooking meals for travelers; selling local handicrafts and souvenirs; providing recreational activities in buffer zones; and presenting cultural performances Without nature’s riches, how would millions of people earn a living for their families? Wednesday, 25 May 2011 22:46

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ASEAN Biodiversity Magazine New!

Volume 10, Number 2

Countries all over the world are celebrating 2011 as the International Year of Forests (Forests 2011). Launched on February 2, 2011 during the High-Level Segment of the Ninth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in New York, Forests 2011 was declared to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. The celebration, with the theme “Forests for People,” is serving as a global platform to celebrate people’s action to sustainably manage the world’s forests.

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The ASEAN Heritage Parks: A Journey to the Natural Wonders of Southeast Asia

The book “The ASEAN Heritage Parks: A Journey to the Natural Wonders of Southeast Asia” is a publication of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in collaboration with the ten ASEAN Member States  – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia,  Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. 

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The ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook

presents the status of biodiversity in Southeast Asia, challenges faced by ASEAN Member States in reducing biodiversity loss, success stories, ways forward, and future prospects for biodiversity in the region.

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Protected Areas Gap Analysis of the ASEAN Region New!

In Southeast Asia, almost a quarter (24 percent) of the total forest areas have been declared as protected areas, meeting the percentage area requirement of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Program of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) of targeting at least 10 percent of ecologically significant terrestrial areas to be ecologically managed and protected by 2010. Closer analysis, however, reveals that 34 percent of the total Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) comprising 603,700 square kilometers remain unprotected, interpreted in this report as representation gaps. Sixteen percent of the areas are partially protected, representing ecological gaps. 

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ASEAN Biodiversity Magazine New!

Volume 10, Number 1

Only a fraction of the world’s species have been identified owing to insufficient funding and a shortage of taxonomists, according to a Brazilian study. Scientists Fernando Carbayo and Antonio Marques from the University of Sao Paulo, writing in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, said only 1.4 million species have been catalogued, thus far. This leaves an estimated 5.4 million unknown to science. The duo estimated that it would take US$263 billion to catalogue the unknown species.

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ASEAN Biodiversity Magazine

Volume 9, Number 3

Nagoya, Japan took center stage when it hosted the world’s biggest biodiversity conference ever,drawing 15,000 representatives of governments and their partners from 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the CBD, held from October 18 to 29, 2010, resulted in the adoption by five heads of state and 130 ministers of environment of an agreement on access and benefit sharing of the world’s rich but highly threatened biodiversity. 

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ASEAN Biodiversity Magazine

Volume 9, Number 2

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), there are 5 to 30 million distinct species on Earth. Humankind’s prosperity and survival depends on benefits from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems and the species living in them. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services.

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Protected Areas of the ASEAN

Species of the ASEAN

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Featured Video

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Events

Training Workshop on Taxonomy of Terrestrial Plants

12 – 16 March 2012

Herbarium Bogoriense, R.C. Biology, CSC-LIPI

Bogor, Indonesia


Workshop on Data Organization and CHM Establishment and Maintenance for Myanmar

6 – 10 February 2012

Myanmar


Southeast Asia Regional Policy Dialogue on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Transforming Policies into Actions

25-26 January 2012, Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati City, Philippines


First Meeting of the Global Platform for Business and Biodiversity

15-16 December 2011, Tokyo, Japan


ACB-GIZ Biodiversity and Climate Change Project: Operational Planning Workshop

14-15 December 2011, Cebu City, Philippines


Visit to ACB HQ by Assistant Secretary Teresita G. Barsana and Key Officials of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

09 December 2011, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, ACB Conference Room, Los Baños, Laguna


Symposium on Managing Megadiverse Biodiversity: Using the CoL Infrastructure and Services

8 December 2011, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Drilon Hall, SEARCA, UP Los Baños Laguna, Philippines


Biodiversity and Climate Change Project – Communication Strategy Workshop

6 - 7 December 2011, Los Baños, Laguna


Symposium on Philippine Botanical Treasures and the Legacy of Leonardo L. Co

19-20 November 2011, Tambunting Hall, Museum of the Filipino People, National Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos Street, Manila, Philippines


Registration is now open!

Asia Regional Forum on Biodiversity

3 - 4 November 2011, The Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand


Regional Workshop on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS): Understanding the Nagoya Protocol 

25 to 26 October 2011, Manila, Philippines

click here to proceed to ABS Project

GLOBAL WATERBIRD FLYWAYS WORKSHOP

17-20 October 2011, Seosan, Republic of Korea