8 November 2024, National University of Singapore
OPENING REMARKS
Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim
Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
- Dr. Kyaw Sein Win Tun, SAC Chairperson and Member for Myanmar;
- Members of the ACB’s Scientific Advisory Committee;
- Distinguished guests, colleagues from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
- It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 10th Meeting of the ACB Scientific Advisory Committee.
- Recognising the vital role of science in biodiversity research and conservation, the ACB established its SAC in 2008 to provide scientific guidance on our projects and to help ensure that these initiatives benefit the ASEAN Member States.
- After having assumed the office of executive director of the ACB, we revisited how we can maximise the potential of the ACB-SAC. We reactivated and reinvented it to become more responsive to the needs of the ASEAN region. This “think tank” is envisioned to foster dynamic knowledge sharing to fill-in scientific information gaps that are relevant to the priorities and needs of the region.
- This year, the role of SAC members has become even more vital with the ACB’s designation as one of the world’s 18 regional and subregional technical and scientific cooperation support centres for the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Because of this, the ACB is expected to be able to provide insightful and meaningful analyses of regional biodiversity data and to make these accessible in the form of credible scientific studies and effective knowledge products and publications , not only to the AMS but also to partner institutions, scientists and scholars, civil society groups, and many other stakeholders. This need for informed and science-based decision-making is clearly stipulated in Target 21 of the KM GBF, which calls for ensuring that the best available data, information and knowledge, are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public to guide effective and equitable governance, integrated and participatory management of biodiversity.
- The Biodiversity Science Forum is just one of several knowledge-sharing initiatives led by the ACB-SAC. The inaugural forum in Bangkok, and this year’s forum here in Singapore, have both shown us how science and research can fuel sustainable, science-based solutions to support our shared environmental and socio-economic goals. We look forward to the next forum and hope that there will be more opportunities in the future to discuss the science supporting our various initiatives on biodiversity conservation.
- In today’s meeting, our colleagues will present updates on the major programmes of the ACB. We hope that we’ll be able to have a meaningful discussion on how to move forward, align our priorities, and continue providing scientific and technical advice to the AMS and the ACB on the implementation of the ACB’s Strategic Plan.
- This also includes supporting technical requirements of the centre’s priority programmes in the ASEAN and contributing to the development of scientific proposals and in the review of selected knowledge products developed by the ACB and its partners to ensure highest levels of quality and credibility.
- Finally, we also hope you can help us grow this network by recommending collaborations with other nationally and regionally recognised experts on the region’s biodiversity, through our List of Biodiversity Regional Experts. This will help us continue and improve knowledge generation and sharing that can drive research, policy, and practice for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
- As I end my term as the Executive Director of the ACB next week, I am glad to leave behind a legacy for a stronger biodiversity science-policy interface for the Centre to hopefully build on. So let me take this opportunity to thank you all for generously sharing your time and expertise in support of the ASEAN’s goals for nature and sustainability. Your dedication has been instrumental in our growth as one ASEAN that is connected and resilient, and I am confident that the SAC will also grow in its role as a scientific and technical advisory body to the ACB.
- Together, through the SAC, we have been preparing a strong science-based foundation for the future of biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN region. Let us continue working together as we find actionable and sustainable solutions so that we can attain our vision of living in harmony with nature.
- Thank you very much for your unwavering support and commitment to this shared mission.
