Dynamic partnerships and comprehensive national programs in Southeast Asia provided a powerful testimony to the leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in global efforts on wetlands conservation, during a virtual symposium on 08 February to celebrate World Wetlands Day 2022.
The symposium established the critical role of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), located in Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines in promoting and mainstreaming the biodiversity and environment agenda in regional cooperation among 10 ASEAN member states, who together host 60 per cent of the world’s peatlands and 42 percent of the world’s mangrove forests.
The Philippine Mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, in partnership with the Geneva-based Secretariat of the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands and the ACB organized the event, that gathered over 100 participants from Geneva, other European cities, Nairobi, and Southeast Asian capitals.
In his opening remarks, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Evan P. Garcia underscored the need for synergy and complementarity of a global commitments under the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands, and regional and local action on protection and conservation of wetlands. He cited the important role of global and regional institutions like Ramsar and ACB in facilitating more coordinated and effective global action on the protection and conservation of wetlands.
The panel of experts included Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar) Martha Rojas Urrego and ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Teresa Mundita Lim, along with a panel of experts from ASEAN Member States, Dr. Srey Sunleang of the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia, Mr. Chantone Phothitay of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Dung of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam and Mr. Yus Rusila Noor of Wetlands International Indonesia.
Secretary General Rojas underlined the international recognition for the importance of the wetlands, with the UN declaration last year of 2 February as International Wetlands Day, and the opportunity for Southeast Asia and other regions to contribute to advancing commitments and synergies at the Conference of Parties (COP 14) to the RAMSAR Convention which is scheduled in Wuhan, China later this year.
Executive Director Mundita Lim presented an overview of the comprehensive and targeted programs of the ACB to facilitate multi-stakeholder partnerships and national capacities to protect the extraordinary wealth of natural resources in the ASEAN region. She stressed the need for regional and global actions that recognize the intricate nexus of biodiversity, climate change, sustainable development, community empowerment, strategies on post-Covid recovery and disaster risk resilience and economic and financing policies.
The national speakers from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia stressed the value of sound and strong national policy frameworks and programs that advance wetlands conservation, and cited challenges, but also prospects for strengthening local programs. Their remarks also emphasized the need to support further work on the ground on awareness-raising, assessments and inventories of wetland resources, and mapping of ecosystems, as well as in valuation of ecosystem services.
In his closing remarks, Ambassador An Sokkhoeurn, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the UN in Geneva, emphasized that the symposium has underscored the power of multilateral action to address threats to wetlands and the populations and economies that depend on them, citing that the theme of the World Wetlands Day align with the theme of Cambodia’s chairing of the ASEAN this year, which is ASEAN A.C.T.; Addressing Challenges Together.
The symposium was the Philippine contribution to a series of events in celebration of World Wetlands Day 2022, which carries the theme “Wetlands in action for people and nature”.
Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs