Biodiversity conference slated in February

MANILA, Philippines - A major biodiversity event in Southeast Asia will take place on Feb. 15 to 19 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dubbed “ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity (ACB2016),” the international conference will focus on the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity in Southeast Asia.

The event is organized by the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) in cooperation with the Royal Thai Government, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand, through the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning.

Lawyer Roberto Oliva, executive director of ACB, said that with the theme Biodiversity for Sustainable Development, ACB2016 is expected to draw some 500 delegates from ASEAN national governments; private sector companies; international, regional and national institutions; non-governmental organizations; academic, science and research community; students; media; and ACB partner countries and organizations.

Oliva said the conference will report the progress and gaps of the ASEAN region in meeting the 2020 global biodiversity targets, known as Aichi Targets. “It will also showcase innovative policies, good practices and experiences in meeting such targets in the ASEAN region; and provide a platform for ASEAN governments and relevant stakeholders to discuss and recommend ways forward to meet the Aichi Targets.”

“We hope to provide an opportunity for biodiversity stakeholders to enhance partnerships and form new alliances; discuss ways and means to financially sustain biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN region through the ASEAN Biodiversity Fund and engage more sectors, particularly the business community, in biodiversity conservation and advocacy,” he added.

Oliva said the ASEAN region is home to four of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots which are characterized both by exceptional levels of plant and animal endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss.

“Land conversion, forest fires, shifting cultivation, large-scale mining, wildlife hunting and trading, population growth and poverty, climate change, and lack of appropriate conservation management policies all contribute to habitat destruction and the consequent loss of biological diversity. Biodiversity loss could trigger enormous effects on health and wealth. The conference will give stakeholders an opportunity to unify conservation efforts in all fronts,” explained Oliva.

ACB2016 will be conducted through plenary and breakout sessions, panel discussions and presentations to facilitate exchange among participants. There will be parallel events, exhibits and fun events.

Clarissa Arida, ACB director for program development and implementation, said the conference will feature plenary presentations on issues to be taken up at the forthcoming 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to be held in in Mexico in December 2016.