SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt—The heads of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-states agreed to accelerate, intensify and enhance new and continuing efforts, and partnerships in integrating biodiversity conservation in key development areas.
The Asean leaders made their commitment through a Joint Asean Statement submitted to the ongoing UN Conference on Biodiversity in Egypt.
According to the statement, Asean’s rich terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and its resources and ecosystem functions and services are challenged by climate change, rapid urbanization, and continuing habitat loss from agricultural expansion, industrial activities and wildlife trafficking.
They agreed to pursue a comprehensive agenda for transformational change to address the drivers of biodiversity loss; accelerate actions to mainstream biodiversity; and enhance regional cooperation and partnerships to support national efforts.
The joint statement, which was adopted in Singapore on November 13, reiterated Asean’s commitment in implementing and achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, particularly Target 11 on increasing well-conserved and connected terrestrial and marine protected areas; and the United Nations’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its goals, particularly on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 14 and 15 on protecting the oceans and the environment.
The statement also urged all parties to the CBD to support the Asean in addressing plastic pollution, and for developed country parties and organizations to “provide adequate financial and technical resources to complement national efforts of developing countries.”
The Asean nations, likewise, recognized the role of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity in facilitating, coordinating and highlighting the collective efforts of the regional group’s members in biodiversity conservation.
The Asean is composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The UN SDGs are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at a UN Summit. The SDGs build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals and aim to go further to end all forms of poverty.
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets is a set of strategic goals adopted by the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, held in October 2010 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan, as part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.
The plan provides an overarching framework on biodiversity, not only for biodiversity-related conventions, but for the entire United Nations system and all other partners engaged in biodiversity management and policy development.