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French Embassy officials discuss possible collaboration with ACB

Officials from the Embassy of France in the Philippines visited the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity’s (ACB) headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna on 18 June 2008 to discuss possible areas for collaboration with the Centre’s directors and staff.

ACB Executive Director Rodrigo U. Fuentes briefed Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs Georges-Gaston Feydeau, Scientific Attaché Ines Loge, and Academic Exchanges Attaché Marie Aurousseau on the Centre’s core objectives, focus areas for intervention, products, services, and partnership schemes. He also presented facts and figures on the ASEAN region’s rich but highly threatened biodiversity, the factors that drive biodiversity loss, and the urgent need for concrete actions to curb not only species loss, but also its catastrophic effects on health, food security, shelter, and medicine.

“We are in search of a strong international alliance within the region and at the global level to address the issue of saving the region’s biodiversity,” Director Fuentes told the French delegation during the meeting.

He added that ACB is interested to explore the possibility of collaborating with the French Embassy through linkages with pharmaceutical companies in France which are supporting research, particularly on plants. “We can study the idea of how we can bring in pharmaceutical companies in the framework of access and benefit sharing,” he said.

Mr. Feydeau suggested that ACB look into the EU-Asia programme which seeks to foster working relationships among scientists in Europe and the ASEAN region through joint research projects.

The counselor also mentioned that ASEAN member countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam mayapply for research grants from the International Organization of French-speaking Countries (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie). He underscored that there are a number of programmes and opportunities that would enable ACB and the French government to work as partners.

ACB’s links to the French Government dates back to 2001 when the ASEAN/EU Biodiversity Chairs Programme was launched. The activity promoted the exchange of scientific knowledge and established permanent linkages between ASEAN institutions and EU partner organizations. The then ASEAN Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservations (ARCBC) also was a partner of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project participated in by scientists, students, and volunteers from 19 countries in 2004.

The French delegation capped their Los Baños tour with side trips to the Rizal Shrine, and the Rice World Museum of the International Rice Research Institute.