Malaysian minister calls for synergy with business for biodiversity conservation
Yang Berhomat Dato’ Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Malaysia’s Minister of Water, Land, and Natural Resources, delivers his keynote speech at the forum
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As part of its preparations for hosting the Third ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity (ACB 2020), Malaysia organised a forum on biodiversity here on Tuesday, drawing about 60 participants from the business sector, academe, and nongovernment organisations.
Led by DHI Water & Environment (M) Sdn. Bhd and supported by Malaysia’s Ministry of Water, Land, and Natural Resources (KATS), the day-long event, dubbed as Biodiversity Forum for the Business and Private Sector, aimed to engage members of the business and private sectors on issues related to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Representatives of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) were also in attendance.
In his keynote speech, Yang Berhomat Dato’ Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Malaysia’s Minister of Water, Land, and Natural Resources, cited the important role of the business sector in mainstreaming biodiversity, which entails integrating conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into the country’s planning and decision-making processes.
He said that while the business sector relies on the genes, species, and ecosystem services that biodiversity provides, its activities leave a huge footprint on the environment.
“The business and private sectors should not only be viewed as stakeholders but as partners for the conservation and protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially in mega-diverse countries like Malaysia,” Dr. Jayakumar said.
Ms. Clarissa Arida, director of ACB’s Programme Development and Implementation Unit, met with officials of Malaysia’s KATS led by Minister Jayakumar in a breakfast dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In bringing transformative change, Jayakumar called for active engagement with sectors, like transportation, agriculture, energy, tourism, manufacturing, mining and infrastructure to ensure the successful implementation of biodiversity agenda at both national and global levels.
“Transformative change involves doing things differently and business-as-usual is unacceptable. The business and private sector in Malaysia will have to play a crucial role to ensure the purpose of mainstream biodiversity and ecosystem services across all sectors are not compromised,” Jayakumar said.
Malaysia’s minister also encouraged the private sector to support the government’s forest restoration programme, which includes planting of 100 million in degraded areas from 2020 to 2025.
Inputs from the Biodiversity Forum will be presented at the ACB 2020 on 16-20 March 2020 led by KATS and the ACB. A forum report will likewise be submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will contribute to the development of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
The ACB 2020, the biggest biodiversity event in the region this year, will bring together 500 representatives from ASEAN national government agencies, managers of ASEAN Heritage Parks and other protected areas, members of the business and private sector, media, and the academe, non-government organisations and individuals involved in the promotion of biodiversity conservation activities in the region, and partner countries and organisations of ACB, among others. The ACB 2020 will feature discussions on the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, along with progress made by the AMS in achieving the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
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