UN official in RP to promote biodiversity conservation

MANILA, Philippines – A top United Nations official is in the country to promote and strengthen biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN region.

United Nations Executive Secretary on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf arrived last June 19 and to attend meetings with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to discuss the protection and conservation of the ASEAN region’s rich but highly-threatened biodiversity.

The Philippines recently participated in the 9th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP9) in Bonn, Germany and it is among the 191 countries that are signatories to the Convention along with other ASEAN member countries like Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

“This is Dr. Djoghlaf’s first visit to the Philippines and the first visit of the highest ranking official of an international multilateral convention,” ACB executive director Rodrigo Fuentes said.

“The SCBD is our strategic partner in enhancing the capacity of ASEAN member countries, including the Philippines, to meet their obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity,” he added.

Signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the Convention on Biodiversity is the first global agreement to cover the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. 

The SCBD was established to support the goals of the Convention by assisting member governments in the implementation of the Convention’s various programs of work, coordination with other international organizations, and collection and dissemination of information on biodiversity conservation.

Early this year, the ACB and SCBD signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to jointly undertake programs in the areas of biodiversity research, capacity building, public awareness, policy development and technical cooperation for the sustainable development of biodiversity in the Southeast Asian region.   

“The collaboration between the two institutions is expected to strengthen the ASEAN’s efforts in articulating policies and initiatives that integrates biodiversity with development concerns,” Fuentes explained.

The ACB, an intergovernmental center of excellence supported by the European Union and hosted by the Philippines, has lined up a series of activities to honor Djoghlaf.

He will make courtesy calls on Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and United Nations Development Program Deputy Resident Representative Kyo Naka and meet with senators and representatives from the public and private sectors, the academe, and civil society groups actively involved in promoting biodiversity conservation.

He will also visit the Manila ACB headquarters and the International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna.

Djoghlaf’s visit also coincides with the promotion of the Green Wave, a multi-year tree-planting campaign for children and youth around the world until 2010, which has been declared as the International Year of Biodiversity. 

Under the project, students and teachers around the world have started planting trees since May 22, 2008 in celebration of the International Day for Biodiversity as their way of making a difference for the environment, one step at a time. 

The Green Wave is considered a fun and exciting way to encourage students to learn about trees and biodiversity. The project shares the vision of United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) Plant for the Planet Billion Tree Campaign.  

Fuentes reported that in the ASEAN region, recent Green Wave participants include two organizations from the Philippines and a school in Singapore. 

The Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly–Pilipinas planted wild cinnamon or kalingag (Cinnamomum mercado), a beneficial plant that has many culinary and medicinal uses, in Manila.

Another group, the La Union National High School in San Fernando, planted mahogany and narra.  The school chose these trees because they provide wonderful shade, fresh air and absorb rainfall but sadly, mahogany and narra are now endangered. – Michael Punongbayan, Katherine Adraneda