‘It is an aspiration to reform the world as we know it, to be the one that we wish for it to be.”
This is how the vision for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework was described by Dr. Suneetha Subramanian of the United Nations University-International Institute of Global Health during the Asean Regional Consultation Meeting on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in Manila recently.
Organized by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity, with support from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (BD), the consultation meeting was attended by representatives from the Asean member-states (AMS) and from international nongovernment organizations, such as Food and Agriculture Organization, Wildlife Conservation Society and Tebtebba Foundation.
The meeting was supported by the Asean through the Asean Development Fund (ADF).
With the aim of assisting the AMS in identifying priority actions in implementing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and in the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by 2020 and beyond, the meeting identified milestones for sustainability transition to happen in the region onwards to fulfill the 2050 Vision.
The 2050 Vision, as decided upon by Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, is “Living in Harmony with Nature.”
“In all consultations, whether regional or national, you may want to consider these questions: Are the current targets still relevant? Do we need to have new biodiversity targets? Or do we need to keep the Aichi Targets, add new ones and increase the level of ambition?” asked Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, executive director of the ACB, to the participants during her opening message.
She added: “One day is not enough to summarize the achievements and gaps in meeting the Aichi Targets, but this workshop should inspire us to sustain consultations at the national level. Today, we are focusing on opportunities and challenges related to ecosystems agriculture, business, and indigenous peoples and local communities.”
“What needs to transform within Asean to achieve the 2050 goals?” was the guiding question given to the participants during one of the workshop sessions.
After the participants’ consultation within their respective workshop groups, it surfaced that there is a need for transformation of mindset such that Asean may be aware of what it can provide to the region, given its myriad of challenges post-2020.
The consultation workshop will have a second round of discussions in Lao PDR. The commitments that will be gathered during these two activities will be considered part of elements of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which in turn is expected to be adopted at the CBD COP 15 in 2020.
Meanwhile, coinciding with the celebration of the Earth Day 2019, the Regional Workshop on Accelerating Aichi Target 11 Implementation in the East and Southeast Asia regions was held with representatives from AMS and from international nongovernment organizations in attendance.
The capacity-building workshop held in Manila recently was one of the activities conducted under the cooperation between the ACB and the National Biodiversity Authority of India (NBA-India). The workshop was supported by the ADF and the Secretariat of the CBD.
Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, or simply Aichi Target 11, states that, “By 2020, at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.”
The two-day workshop aimed to gather updates in achieving the target on the coverage of terrestrial and marine protected areas in the East and Southeast Asian regions, and engage other partners and in assessing progress on ecological representation, areas important for biodiversity and ecosystems services, and other effective area-based conservation measures, among others.
Dr. Jeyaram Soundrapandi of NBA-India, served as one of the resource speakers for the workshop, along with experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Haribon Foundation, Tebtebba Foundation and United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the development of national Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely Action Plans to accelerate implementation of Aichi Target 11 in 2020.
The AMS identified activities they will prioritize until October 2020. Some of the action plans include to increase the number of protected areas, stop perimeter development for mining projects, and promote sustainable use of non-timber and forest products, among others.
Lim highlighted the alarming rate of species extinction. However, she showcased the activities that the ACB has been undertaking to address and find solutions for these concerns.
“We barely have 18 months before COP 15—our deadline to meet the Aichi Targets. Let us use this workshop to strengthen our resolve to work together to achieve Target 11,” Lim said.
She added, “the ACB reiterates its commitment to regional cooperation to ensure that biodiversity, through achievement of Aichi Target 11, is mainstreamed in all development sectors, ensuring that our planet’s species and their ecosystems will survive and continue to contribute to sustainable development.”
The ACB was established in 2005 by the AMS as a response to biodiversity loss in the region. It supports and coordinates the implementation of activities in the Asean leading to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, for the benefit of the region and the AMS. The ACB was tasked by the CBD Secretariat as the node for the Regional Implementation Support Network on the Aichi Biodiversity Targets on protected areas and endangered species.