ACB 2009
BULLETIN 22 OCTOBER 2009
ASEAN CONFERENCE ON BIODIVERSITY 2009 Biodiversity in Focus: 2010 and Beyond
Opening Programme Rodrigo U. Fuentes, Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), welcomed honored guests, representatives of ASEAN Member States, government and non-government organizations, students and media to the ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity 2009. The theme of ACB2009 - Biodiversity in Focus: 2010 and Beyond - highlights the prospects and implications of biodiversity management in the region as all countries gear up for the 10th Conference of Parties (COP10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan. According to Director Fuentes, the ASEAN region is well known for the wealth of its biodiversity, which is unfortunately facing extreme pressure on all fronts. Biodiversity plays a huge role in protecting ecosystem services, thus, securing the well-being of all citizens of ASEAN. Biodiversity loss is beyond losing plants and animals. It’s an issue of human survival, with the greatest impact on the poor. For ASEAN, the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services is a threat that has real impacts on the welfare of over 500 million Southeast Asians. “As all countries prepare to report on their efforts to reduce biodiversity loss in 2010, the region must now work on what to do beyond 2010,” Director Fuentes emphasized. H.E. Dato’ Misran Karmain, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General, explained that biodiversity is a major component of sustainable development in ASEAN and that conservation fits into the ASEAN Charter and the personality of ASEAN as a coalition of nations. With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter in December 2008, ASEAN will operate under a new legal framework and establish new instruments to boost its community-building process. The ASEAN Charter features three roadmaps to development, namely the Political-Security Community Blue-
print, Economic Community Blueprint, and Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint. These blueprints and other activities of the ASEAN Member States demonstrate the full commitment of ASEAN to sustainable development. The Deputy Secretary General said that although ASEAN occupies only three percent of the earth’s surface, it contains about 20 percent of the global biodiversity, onethird of the world’s coral reefs, and 35 percent of the world’s mangroves, with resulting goods and services. He called on the ASEAN community to work together as a region to protect the environment. There are a number of programmes in ASEAN where countries work together to address biodiversity conservation, such as the ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme, the Heart of Borneo Initiative, the Coral Triangle Initiative, and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity which provides operational support to ASEAN Member States. H.E. Holger Standertskjold Nordenstam, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Singapore, stated that at least 40 percent of the needs of the poor worldwide are derived from biodiversity. Biodiversity contributes to global and national security, stability, resilience to climate change, and human health. He reviewed some of the conservation efforts supported by the European Union (EU). Over the past 25 years, a network of 26,000 protected areas, known as the Natura 2000 Network, has been developed, covering 850,000km2, which represents 20 percent of the total EU territory. However, even with the EU Biodiversity Action Plan and EU legislation, the region is facing challenges in meeting the CBD 2010 biodiversity target. There is a need to step up efforts and replicate past successes on a larger scale to get as close as possible to the 2010 target. Key strategic principles to be attained should be developed by 2010. He then described the links between biodiversity, access and benefit-sharing, climate change, and the economics of eco-
systems and biodiversity, which also reflect regional priorities in biodiversity conservation in ASEAN. In her opening address, Ms. Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, Singapore, described the richness of the biodiversity in the ASEAN region. Biodiversity strategies and action plans have been prepared at the national level, and implementation at the local level is critical. Holistic plans are needed to balance the trade-off between conservation and development. Singapore has managed various successes, including green cover approaching half of the land area. Effective local strategies are not enough, and a regional approach can be taken by the ASEAN community. Ms. Fu reported that Singapore is developing the Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity, as a benchmarking self-assessment. Further efforts are encouraged throughout ASEAN to aim for the 2010 biodiversity targets, including collaboration beyond ASEAN. She lauded the conference as the largest event so far organized by ACB, as an opportunity for forging new partnerships, reinforcing established links, and collectively developing bold plans to address challenges in the region. Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Faculty Member at the Center for Health and Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, delivered the keynote address at ACB 2009. HIV, SARS, Nipah virus, and other diseases have broken out as a result of biodiversity loss. The current rate of extinction has not been seen for the past 65 million years. Dr. Bernstein explained that natural products from biodiversity remain as the major source for new medicines. Cone venom, for example, is a new source of medically important substances. Cone snails may represent the greatest treasure trove of drugs amongst all
biodiversity. Yet 20 percent of all coral reefs, where cone shells live, have been lost due to climate change. Carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean is causing increased acidification, affecting corals and phytoplankton. Cone shells could conceivably be lost by 2100. Meanwhile, only a handful of Conus species, and only a few active compounds, have been investigated in detail. As a result of the uniqueness of each species, there is a need to continue to protect and study them. “There is no choice but to conserve, if humanity is to survive,” Dr. Bernstein stressed.
Plenary Paper Presentations The Status of Biodiversity and Challenges in the ASEAN Region Prof. Peter Ng Kee Lin, Professor of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, stressed that Southeast Asia is at the heart of the planet’s biodiversity richness. ASEAN’s natural heritage is being destroyed in the name of progress, reefs and forests are being cleared on a huge scale. Unrestrained consumerism, uncontrolled hunger for varied foods and other natural products, aquarium fish, wild plants, collection of souvenirs such as shells, are all examples of market forces at work. Trade is free flowing, and invasive alien species are brought in. “Singapore has lost 90 percent of its forest and about 50 percent of its biodiversity. Mitigation is necessary to revive the natural ecosystem. Singapore can be viewed as an example and a lesson, and this may also apply to more biodiversity-rich ecosystems in the region. Culture, humanity and aesthetics need to be added to the economic fundamentals in conserving whatever we can,” the professor explained. Climate Change and Biodiversity: The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and Recent Updates Dr. Andreas Fischlin, Member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stated that regardless of the pathway human kind will embark on climate policy, future climate change is expected to impact ecosystems in many ways around the globe, to a varying degree, but significantly in many cases. Climate change impacts on biodiversity show that 20 to 30 percent of higher plants and animals are at high risk of extinction if there is a 1.5 to 2.5oC rise in temperature. Species can be classed as winners, losers, unchanged, or adaptive. In the Fynbos example, three percent of plants
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might be winners, nine percent unchanged, 15 percent adaptive, and 73 percent losers to climate change. Observations of Arctic sea ice show that the models are not accurate. Actual rates of loss are faster than anticipated. Dr. Fischlin elaborated on regulating services of biodiversity. Carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is 4.5 times the amount in the atmosphere. The future resilience of ecosystems is at stake, making these a net source of carbon during this century. Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Dr. Haripriya Gundimeda, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, said the current deforestation rate of 13 million hectares per year is roughly the same area as the country of Greece. Emissions equivalent to 27 billion tons of CO 2 are released into the atmosphere each year. One third of CO 2 now in the atmosphere is derived from anthropogenic causes. There has been over 50 percent decline in freshwater species since 1970. Such figures show that biodiversity loss is therefore on a huge scale. The Economics of Environment and Biodiversity (TEEB) Interim Report was released during CBD COP 9 in Bonn, Germany, May 2008. TEEB’s goals are to demonstrate the value of biodiversity and ecosystems, underline the urgency of problems, and show how we can take into account those values, identify solutions, and address the needs of policy-makers, administrators, businesses and citizens. The final TEEB report will be published in June 2010. The professor emphasized that instruments and measures are needed to address the loss of biodiversity. A wide array of steps is needed including protected areas and species conservation, governance, legislation, monetary incentives and disincentives, as well as schemes such as REDD and payment for ecosystem services, tools for measurement, and many other components. Access to Genetic Resources and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization Prof. Zakri A. Hamid, Tuanku Chancellor Chair, Universiti Sains Malaysia, provided an overview of issues and challenges pertaining to Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in ASEAN. ASEAN Member States are both donors and recipients of genetic resources. This region is extremely rich in biodiversity, with three of ASEAN Member States being in the league of the mega-diverse coun-
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tries in the world. This status requires ASEAN to be a responsible member of the global community. The region should demonstrate how it can achieve a fair and equitable mechanism in the governance of ABS. Road to Nagoya: COP10 and Beyond Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said that in 2002, the Parties to the CBD established the 2010 Biodiversity Target, a commitment to significantly reduce biodiversity loss worldwide by 2010. However, with 2010 – the International Year of Biodiversity – around the corner, it does not appear that the target will be met. Loss of biodiversity is higher than the natural rate of extinction. There are major consequences on human well being. Millions of people, especially the poor who largely depend on natural resources for their survival, will suffer. The human costs of biodiversity loss will be exacerbated by its strong links to climate change. He stressed the need to do things differently. Nations must work on new targets for 2010 and beyond. Based on lessons learned on the assessment of the 2010 target, new targets must be proposed for 2015 and 2020. Interim reviews must also be made to ensure that new directions can be set and mistakes rectified before nations report on biodiversity conservation in 2020. “In the final analysis, the goal of sustainable development cannot be achieved by the government, NGOs and business alone. There is a need to wake up the citizens of the world, to act responsibly and learn to live in harmony with nature,” Dr. Djoghlaf stressed. Panel Discussion with Plenary Speakers The panel discussion raised significant issues related to biodiversity conservation, such as the current status of the international regime on ABS; the roles played by the scientific community and policy makers in decision making; the need to develop taxonomists to take account of biodiversity species in ASEAN; and the significance of communication, education and public awareness activities to change attitudes and lifestyles in relation to the environment. H.E. Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, former ASEAN Secretary General, summarized the day’s proceedings as follows: (1) The situation is serious, and requires action straight away; (2) ACB 2009 participants comprise the converted, and are encourage to spread the biodiversity message to friends and colleagues. And lastly, “There is no need to agree to new things, just carry out what has already been agreed upon,” the Ambassador emphasized.