Members of the Governing Board of the ACB during the 26th Meeting in Lao PDR
VIENTIANE, LAO PDR – Members of the Governing Board of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) convened for a whole day back-to-back meetings on 29 July 2024 to escalate regional efforts to meet the Global Biodiversity Plan and strengthen the ACB’s current programmes and future initiatives.
ASEAN environment officials tackle biodiversity
The Annual Meeting of the Governing Board of the ACB is a platform to present and discuss policy-related and operational matters that are crucial to the Centre’s management. The Governing Board of the ACB, established to manage and provide policy guidance to the ACB, is composed of members of the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment and the Secretary-General of the ASEAN.
Host country and this year’s ASEAN Chair Lao PDR’s Director General of the Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Phakkavanh Phissamay, recognised biodiversity among the areas that call for connectivity and resilience—two elements making up the ASEAN theme for this year.
In the said meeting, current chairperson Atty. Jonas R. Leones, Undersecretary for Planning, Policy and International Affairs of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), shared how the ACB has grown from a foreign-assisted project under the Philippine DENR to a globally-recognised regional centre for excellence for biodiversity, facilitating coordination and cooperation among the ASEAN Member States (AMS) in advancing the conservation, sustainable use, and equitable sharing of benefits from the region’s biological resources.
Meanwhile, ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim shared in her intervention that she hopes that the ACB’s accomplishments during her leadership and the current initiatives of the ACB will be sustained and will pave the way for the implementation of the ASEAN Biodiversity Plan which will reflect the ASEAN’s contribution to the global biodiversity plan.
The ASEAN Biodiversity Plan—the region’s response to the global biodiversity targets, was supported by the environment officials, and is expected to be presented by the region in the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference in October. Other highlights of the meeting included updates on various regional programmes and projects, including potential ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP) sites from Lao PDR and the Philippines, the establishment of an ASEAN Urban Wetlands Network, implementation of conservation action plans for Threatened Vertebrate Species and for Invasive Species, and the 2025 workplan and budget of the ACB.
ACB-Germany cooperation on biodiversity
The 10th and final PSC Meeting on ASEAN-Germany cooperation held in Lao PDR
Prior to the meeting of the Governing Board, the 10th and Final Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting of the ASEAN and the Federal Republic of Germany was held in the same venue.
“We are grateful that for the past 14 years, the German Government through the GIZ, supported the ACB through projects related to its institutional strengthening, effective protected area management, and mainstreaming biodiversity throughout the ASEAN region,” said Atty. Leones, in his opening message.
Since 2010, the cooperation between the ACB and the Federal Government of Germany, through the GIZ and KfW, prospered with the implementation of six programmes and projects, namely:(i) Biodiversity and Climate Change Project; (ii) Biodiversity-based Products (BBP) as an Economic source for the Improvement of Livelihoods and Biodiversity Protection Project; (iii) the Small Grants Programme by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (SGP) I and II; and (iv) the Institutional Strengthening of the Biodiversity Sector in ASEAN I and II Projects.
The said programmes and projects focusing on capacity development, awareness raising, and the elaboration and implementation of regional strategies to appropriately address climate change and biodiversity loss, mainstream biodiversity across sectors, and improve livelihoods, have laid out a strong foundation for the ASEAN region to expand innovative initiatives on biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use.
On behalf of the KfW and the ASEAN-Germany Cooperation, Ms. Tze Pei Choo, International Chief Technical Adviser of the SGP, commended the partnership with ACB and the AMS under the SGP project, highlighting the programme’s unique approach to addressing biodiversity issues and strengthening policy, including the regional component on supporting the AHP Programme, such as SMART patrolling.
The annual meeting was attended by delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat and the ACB. The Meeting was also attended by representatives from the GITEC-IGIP GmbH. – end
