Representatives from the government, ASEAN Heritage Parks, and civil society groups from Indonesia, Myanmar, and Viet Nam gathered for the Small Grants Programme’s culminating event in Manila and Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. Photo by: ACB
MANILA, Philippines – In celebration of a decade of collaboration through the Small Grants Programme by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (SGP), a week-long Partners’ Meeting, Exchange, and Sustainability Forum was organised to share knowledge, experiences, and chart ways to ensure the sustainability of this EUR 10 million conservation and livelihood improvement project. This initiative provided conservation and livelihood opportunities for communities within and around Gunung Leuser National Park and Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia, and Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Meinmahla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary, and Nat Ma Taung National Park in Myanmar. All these sites are ASEAN Heritage Parks, a network of outstanding protected areas in Southeast Asia.
ACB Executive Director Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim opened the forum by looking back at the programme’s beginnings in 2014 when the Federal Government of Germany through the KfW Development Bank, provided support to start the implementation. “We had a clear vision of helping the communities living in and around select ASEAN Heritage Parks in Indonesia and Myanmar, with an initial seed grant of EUR 10 million. We knew that investing in people is the wisest investment that we could make to enhance biodiversity protection of the region,” she said.
From its initial concept as a financial cooperation programme, the successes of the SGP proved to be an effective sustainability model that supports important conservation activities while supporting the local’s need for sustainable livelihoods. This model is built to cover eight thematic areas, namely park management, habitat and species management, law enforcement, wildlife research and monitoring, community development and outreach, ecotourism, and policy development.
“I am very pleased that despite the formidable challenges and circumstances beyond our control such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues in some AHPs, together we have remained—and have gained much. Our partnership flourished and launched over 60 biodiversity-based products and services, with hundreds of locals trained under various livelihood and conservation initiatives,” Dr. Lim added.
One of the significant achievements of the SGP is the development of Collaborative Management Plans (CMPs) through multi stakeholder consultations involving various sectors supported by the SGP. “These CMPs result from a consultative and inclusive process that is more responsive to threats that need longer-term solutions. It reflects strategies for protected area management, and reconciles with the economic and social needs of communities. This now serves as the basis for succeeding interventions in the parks and demonstrates close collaboration and joint decision-making and action between park authorities and local communities,” Dr. Lim continues.
To ensure that the knowledge and best practices from the programme’s 10-year implementation will stay on, the SGP produced a set of knowledge products that delve into four thematic themes on conservation and livelihood and a magazine that contains a collection of the grantees’ success stories. These knowledge products not only serve as the programme’s legacy, but as helpful reference for other AHPs in replicating the successes in grant implementation, facilitating knowledge exchange, and aiding them in leveraging interests and investments to sustain their respective projects.
Launch of #ExploreASEAN Knowledge Hub Centre
The week-long celebration of the decade of partnerships of SGP also saw the launch of the ACB’s learning resource centre called #ExploreASEAN Knowledge Hub, a learning facility where the newly launched SGP knowledge products, as well as other ASEAN biodiversity educational materials, will be showcased.
Conceptualised as the centre’s first high-technology and interactive learning resource facility at the ACB headquarters, #ExploreASEAN Knowledge Hub aims to reach out to all kinds of learners and audiences from all social backgrounds to raise awareness of the importance of the megadiverse natural wealth in the ASEAN region. It is also meant to enhance research and collaboration on biodiversity.
“The learning centre promotes regional conservation initiatives through an immersive learning experience through interactive displays, works of art, motion games, and audio-visual materials” Communication Department Acting Director Pamela Q. Reblora said. “Our Knowledge Hub also showcases both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, with two- and three-dimensional displays of some endangered, iconic, migratory, and endemic species found in ASEAN,” she added.
The ACB’s first high-technology and interactive physical learning resource centre is located at its headquarters in Los Banos, Laguna. Photo by: ACB
The ACB also presented its official mascots during the opening of the knowledge hub. The first is called “Lin” and is based on the Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), one of the world’s most trafficked mammals that would require local community engagement to save it from extinction. The other one also features a critically-endangered animal, “Bill” the Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) that is threatened primarily due to habitat loss, illegal trade of their shells, and climate change.
The last day of the week-long series of activities was a field visit at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP), the Philippine Museum of Natural History, and the historic Intramuros.
