17 August 2024 (Saturday), 12:15H – 1300H
ACB Headquarters
WELCOME REMARKS
Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim
Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
Your Excellency, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, The President of the Republic of Singapore and spouse, Mrs. Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam;
Ms. Grace Fu Hai Yien, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations;
Ms. Foo Chi Hsia, Deputy Secretary of Southeast Asia and ASEAN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Her Excellency Ambassador Constance See, Ambassador of Singapore to the Philippines;
His Excellency Ambassador Medardo G. Macaraig, Ambassador of the Philippines to the Republic of Singapore
Mr. Henry Kwek, and Ms. Mariam Jaafar, Members of the Parliament;
Dr. Teoodoro J. Herbosa, Secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines
Atty. Angelo Jimenez, President of the University of the Philippines;
Dr. Jose V. Camacho, Jr., Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon!
The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity is pleased to welcome His Excellency to the ACB headquarters. The ACB, as the only ASEAN Centre based in the Philippines is truly honoured with this first-ever visit of a Head of State to our nature-surrounded premises. This event shall forever be etched in the history of this 19-year-old regional institution. Your presence here today inspires us to double our efforts in delivering our mandate, knowing that Singapore is one with us in playing a pivotal role in sustaining the biodiversity richness in the ASEAN region.
Our collaboration with Singapore includes the protection of migratory birds and their wetland habitats, as well as promoting urban greening and city biodiversity. These activities do not only address biodiversity loss in the region but also help increase our resilience against climate change impacts, contribute to water security and to the overall health and well-being of ASEAN citizens. ASEAN Heritage Parks, such as the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, showcase how protecting wetlands can achieve multiple benefits as nature-based solutions to support migratory bird populations and at the same time, safeguard coastal areas from storm surges sea level rise, and erosion.
We also have a partnership with Mandai Nature in developing a conservation action plan for threatened species, which likewise contributes to our regional efforts in species conservation and preventing biodiversity loss.
Once again Excellency, we are grateful for this occasion of your visit. Kindly allow us to present a brief video about the ACB and another video on the ASEAN Biodiversity Dashboard, an interactive, online platform for visualising trends in biodiversity information and data in the ASEAN region. This will then be followed by a demonstration on the use of the Dashboard by Dr. Arvin Diesmos, ACB’s Biodiversity Knowledge Management Director, who received his PhD in Biology from the National University of Singapore.
Thank you very much!
