Asean Biodiversity: Forests for People potx

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity ACB is an intergovernmental regional centre of excellence that facilitates cooperation and coordination among the ten ASEAN Member States and with relev

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) is an

intergovernmental regional centre of excellence that

facilitates cooperation and coordination among the

ten ASEAN Member States and with relevant national

governments, regional and international organizations

on the conservation and sustainable use of biological

diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefi ts

arising from the use of such natural treasures

ACB’s goals are:

• To serve as an effective coordinative body to

facilitate discussion and resolution of cross-country

biodiversity conservation issues;

• To provide a framework and mechanism for sharing

information, experiences, best practices and lessons

learned for effi cient access of ASEAN Member

States;

• To implement a pro-active approach in monitoring

and assessing biodiversity conservation status as a

strategic approach towards identifying critical issues

and future trends;

• To deliver/facilitate conduct of capacity-building

services and technology transfer through engaging

relevant and appropriate expertise;

• To enhance common understanding of biodiversity

conservation issues, strengthening ASEAN regional

positions in negotiations and in compliance with

relevant multilateral environmental agreements;

• To promote public awareness to develop champions

and enhance support at different stakeholder levels

on biodiversity concerns; and

• To undertake innovative resource generation and mobilization measures to pursue high- impact activities that will enhance biodiversity conservation in the region.

ACB supports ASEAN Member States in the following thematic concerns that are of global and regional importance: Agriculture and food security, including food certifi cation and biodiversity; Access

to, and fair and equitable sharing of benefi ts from biological and genetic resources; Climate change and biodiversity conservation; Ecotourism and biodiversity conservation; Payment for ecosystems services and valuation of biodiversity; Wildlife enforcement; Managing invasive alien species; Peatland management and biodiversity; Support to the Global Taxonomy Initiative; Support to the Convention

on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Programme of Work

on Protected Areas; Managing biodiversity information and knowledge; and Business and biodiversity.

For more information, log on to www.aseanbiodiversity.org

ACB Headquarters

3/F ERDB Building, Forestry Campus College, Laguna 4031, Philippines Telephone/Fax: +6349 536-3989 / +6349 536-2865

Conserving Southeast Asia’s Biodiversity for Human Development and Survival

VOL 10 NO 2 MAY - AUGUST 2011

16 The status of ASEAN’s forest biodiversity and solutions to forest biodiversity loss

20 Forestry cooperation in the ASEAN region

24 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

27 Watershed and biodiversity

29 New global study shows high reliance on forests among rural poor

30 New publication outlines biodiversity elements for design and implementation of REDD-Plus

SPECIAL SECTIONS

32 ASEAN Champions of Biodiversity announced

33 HSBC Brunei: Investing

in biodiversity conservation makes sound business sense

36 Green Community: Initiating little activities with

FEATURES

46 The President of the Philippines launches the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity for Southeast Asia

Forests for people

Photo by Angie Metin

The ASEAN region is losing its

forests at alarming levels Key

measures must be taken to save

forests now Otherwise, nothing

will be left for future generations

President Benigno S

Aquino III on the occasion

of the launch of the

67 SM’s Green Retail Agenda highlights sustainability

68 SyenSaya 2011 features climate change and biodiversity

68 UNDP workshop discusses value of communication in biodiversity conservation

69 ASEAN workshop discusses investing in natural capital for green growth

70 Youth camp discusses role

of school children in biodiversity conservation

70 Workshop highlights importance of conserving ecosystems and biodiversity for human prosperity

71 Magazine features taxonomy concerns

biodiversity and climate change

72 GEF establishes the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund

73 Governments establish basis for implementation

of Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources

74 Indonesia bans new forest concessions

75 Infl atable shark among 300 new Phl species

75 UN organizations launch Scientifi c Task Force on Wildlife Diseases

76 State of the World 2011: Agriculture innovation is key to reducing poverty and climate change

77 Illegal trading of gecko poses threat to

environment

78 Asia builds capacity and strategies to save biodiversity

79 BIODIVERSITY NEWS SOUTHEAST ASIA

Rolando A Inciong

Managing Editor

Leslie Ann Jose-Castillo

Head Writer and Researcher

3/F ERDB Building, Forestry Campus

University of the Philippines

Los Baños, College, Laguna,

Ninoy Aquino Parks

and Wildlife Center

North Avenue, Diliman,

Quezon City 1156

Philippines

Disclaimer: Views or opinions

expressed herein do not necessarily

represent any offi cial views of the

Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN) The authors

are responsible for any data or

information presented in their articles

Letters, articles, suggestions and

photos are welcome and should be

addressed to:

The Editor-in-Chief

ASEAN Biodiversity Magazine

ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

About the Contributors

Mr Ega Denaswidhi, S.Si is a Forest Ecosystem Controller working with the Dodokan Moyosari Watershed Management Agency based in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia – a government agency under the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry The agency deals with watershed management and forest/land rehabilitation in West Nusa Tenggara province He has a degree in Geography, major in remote sensing, GIS and Cartography

Dr Monina T Uriarte is a Capacity Development Specialist at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity She spearheads the implementation of trainings and workshops for the effective management of protected areas, especially the ASEAN Heritage Parks She has conducted research on natural and plantation forests, particularly on growth and yield determination Dr Uriarte has published over 50 articles in various scientifi c journals, proceedings and conferences She also serves as Chairman of the Board for Foresters of the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission

Dr Filiberto A Pollisco, Jr specializes in forest ecology and land management/land use planning; biodiversity conservation in genetic, species and ecosystems levels; and ecotourism

He was formerly an Assistant Director/Supervising Science Research Specialist at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) where he handled sloping land management, solid waste management, organic agriculture, soil and water conservation, and project development He presently works at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity as Program Development Specialist

Mr Norman Emmanuel C Ramirez is a Programme Management Offi cer at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity He has more than 12 years of progressive experience in the fi eld of training and capacity building, as well as project management Prior to joining ACB, he worked as Training Specialist from 1999 to 2002 under the Training and Extension Branch of ACB’s predecessor – the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC) He also worked with the Local Government Finance and Development (LOGOFIND) He earned his bachelor’s degree in Forestry at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and is now completing his Master in Management degree at the same university

Ms Rhia C Galsim has almost 20 years of experience in the environment sector and has worked with various agencies of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

of the Philippines, such as the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau and Ecosystems Research and Development Services of a number of DENR offi ces Prior to her appointment at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, she was a Senior Science Research Specialist at the Protected Areas Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Services of the DENR-National Capital Region Rhia has a bachelor’s degree

in Sociology and a Masters Degree in Management, majoring in Agribusiness, from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos She is currently the Capacity Development Offi cer of ACB

Against the earth’s sweet

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make

a tree.

“Trees” was originally published in Trees and Other Poems Joyce Kilmer

New York: George H Doran Company, 1914

BAN KI-MOON

Secretary-General, United Nations

By declaring 2011 as the International Year of Forests, the United Nations General Assembly has created an important platform to educate the global community about the great value of forests – and the extreme social, economic and environmental costs of losing them

Forests are vital to our well-being They harbour 80 percent of land-based biodiversity, and store more than 1 trillion tons of carbon

Greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation account for more than those

by the world’s entire transportation sector

At the recent climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, governments took an important step towards building a low-emissions, climate-resilient future The balanced package of measures on which they agreed included progress on the conservation and sustainable management of forests

The decision to move forward with REDD Plus will provide tangible results for the planet and the more than 1.6 billion people who depend on forests for sustenance and livelihoods

Let us build on this promising initiative so that present and future generations continue to benefit from the rich diversity of forests

Nearly two decades ago, at the Rio Earth Summit, concern about forest management led to the establishment of the United Nations Forum on Forests

In this International Year, and as we look ahead to the Rio+20 conference

in 2012, we have a chance to agree on how best to realize the full potential

of forests — for sustainable development, economic stability, the fight against poverty, and our efforts to ensure future prosperity for all

AHMED DJOGHLAF

Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity

Biodiversity is life Biodiversity is our life This was the slogan of the International Year of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is life and forests have more than 80 percent of biodiversity

of our land The unprecedented rate of loss of biodiversity is therefore compounded by the unprecedented loss of forests And therefore, in Nagoya,

at the summit on biodiversity, the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have adopted an overarching comprehensive strategy for 2011 up to

2020 called the Aichi Targets with 20 targets including several on forests – (1)

to at least halve deforestation, and where feasible bring it close to zero; (2) to manage all areas under forestry sustainably; (3) to conserve at least 17 percent

of terrestrial and inland water areas; and (4) to restore at least 15 percent of degraded forest ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification

These Aichi Targets need now to be translated as a national priority through national strategies and action plans, and pay tribute to the General Assembly for having declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests This will allow

us to raise public awareness and engage the public as a whole to protect biodiversity, to protect life and, of course, to protect forests

Messages for the International Year of Forests

ountries all over the world are ing 2011 as the International Year of Forests (Forests 2011) Launched on February 2, 2011 during the High-Level Seg-ment of the Ninth Session of the United Na-tions Forum on Forests (UNFF) in New York, Forests 2011 was declared to raise awareness

celebrat-on sustainable management, ccelebrat-onservaticelebrat-on and sustainable development of all types of forests

The celebration, with the theme “Forests for People,” is serving as a global platform to cel-ebrate people’s action to sustainably manage the world’s forests

The declaration comes at a critical time when the world’s forests are facing immense pres-sures and challenges

The global launch was led by Joseph Deiss, President of the 65th session of the UN Gen-eral Assembly Apart from Deiss, other speak-ers were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (through a video message), UN Under-Secre-tary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang, and ministers from Croatia, Rwan-

da, Canada and Mexico Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, UNFF Director Jan

McAlpine, Global Environment Facility Chief ecutive Officer and Chair Monique Barbut, and many other experts shared their views on the celebration

Ex-At the launch, environmental experts and world leaders joined hands in calling for the sustainable management of forests in the inter-est of human development

“We have a chance to agree on how best to realize the full potential of forests – for sustain-able development, economic stability, the fight against poverty and our efforts to ensure future prosperity for all,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said

“We have to eradicate poverty, but not the forests Each minute that we spend on this planet breathing in and breathing out, about 25 hectares of forests are lost Ultimately, as history reminds us, in the past, entire civilizations col-lapse due to deforestation,” Mr Deiss stressed.For Mr Deiss, it is important to involve peo-ple from various levels and sectors to achieve the goal of protecting forests for people

“It is my hope that this Year of Forests will raise high political awareness and galvanize ac-

tivities from the grassroots

up so that the interlinked

challenges of biodiversity

loss, climate change and

desertification can be

effec-tively tackled for the

ben-efit of sustainable

develop-ment,” Mr Deiss said

He expected that “in

2011 and beyond, every country and each citizen of our planet will take action

in favor of forests and bring this message across: we are all dependent on forests

as much as forests are

de-The Forests 2011 logo

Forests 2011 has a logo which was designed to convey the theme of “Forests for People” cele-brating the central role of people in the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable develop-ment of our world’s for-

ests The iconographic elements in the design depict some of the mul-tiple values of forests and the need for a 360-degree perspective:

forests provide shelter

to people and habitat

to biodiversity; are a source of food, medi-cine and clean water;

and play a vital role in maintaining a stable global climate and environment All of these elements, taken together, reinforce the message that forests are vital to the survival and well-being of people everywhere, all seven billion of us For the use of the FORESTS 2011 logo, please log

on to http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/index.shtml for the documentary requirements

pendent on us.”

In Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiver-sity (ACB) issued a state-ment of support for Forests

of ACB, said

He invited governments, schools and youth, civic organizations, business, media, conservation orga-nizations, and individuals

to participate in the wide celebration of Forests

world-2011

“We need all hands on deck to ensure that the well-being and survival of humans and all forms of life relying on trees and for-ests,” Mr Fuentes said For more information

on the International Year

of Forests 2011, log on

to http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/

A young delegate talks about the importance of growing trees

Speakers at the forum

Panelists discuss key issues on forest conservation

how valuable are they?

y providing food, medicine, timber, a

source of livelihood and many other

products and services, forests play a

crucial role in sustaining lives of billions of

peo-ple

According to the Convention on Biological

Diversity (CBD), in the past, timber production

was regarded as the dominant function of

for-ests However, in recent years this perception

has shifted to a more multi-functional and

bal-anced view Other forest functions and

servic-es, such as recreation, health and well-being,

biological diversity, maintenance of ecosystem

services and the mitigation of climate change

are increasingly recognized as integral

compo-nents of sustainable forest management and

forest biological diversity as both a complex

and unique element

A single mature tree can release enough

oxygen back into the atmosphere to support

two human beings It can absorb 4.5 kilos of air pollutants, including 1.8 kilos of ozone and 1.4 kilos of particulates Trees store carbon and help slow human-caused climate change Tree canopies and leaf litter protect the soil surface from the erosive power or rain Trees purify our air and water and provide us with food, timber and medicine

Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates

US $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides US

$62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles

US $37,500 worth of water, and controls US

$31,250 worth of soil erosion All these ensure the well-being and survival of humans and all forms of life relying on trees and forests

Forests feed rivers and are essential to plying water for nearly 50 percent of the world’s largest cities Forests create and maintain soil fertility, as well as help regulate the devastating impact of storms, floods and fires

sup-B

Photo courtesy of Felix Mirasol

million people around the

world and to 80 percent of

our terrestrial biodiversity

The livelihoods of over 1.6

billion people depend on

forests Some 30 percent of

forests are used for

produc-tion of wood and non-wood

products In 2001, global

trade in forest products

was estimated at US $327

billion

Forests are one of the

most biologically rich

ter-restrial systems Together,

tropical, temperate and

boreal forests offer diverse

sets of habitats for plants,

animals and

micro-organ-isms, and harbor the vast

majority of the world’s

ter-restrial species

Further-more, forest biodiversity

is interlinked to a web of

other socio-economic

fac-tors, providing an array of

goods and services that

range from timber and

non-mitigating climate change and genetic resources At the same time, forests pro-vide livelihoods for people worldwide and play impor-tant economic, social, and cultural roles in the lives of many indigenous communi-ties Therefore, forests and forest biological diversity are innately linked to eco-system and human well-be-ing

“Ensuring that forests are conserved is, therefore, crucial for human well-be-ing From simple activities such as the planting and nurturing of trees to the more complex process of curbing illegal logging, we must encourage everyone

to contribute their share in conserving our forests,” Mr

Rodrigo U Fuentes, tive director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), said

execu-Young ASEAN Biodiversity Champion Adeline Suwana leads a mangrove planting activity in Indonesia.

Photo courtesy of Sahabat Alam

Southeast Asia’s

forest ecosystems:

a rich natural heritage

By Dr Monina T Uriarte and Rhia C Galsim*

orests are very important ecosystems

The vast forests support ecologically, economically and scientifically valuable plants and animals Forests are the largest ter-restrial ecosystem, cover about 30 percent of the earth’s surface, and harbor an estimated 75 percent of all terrestrial biodiversity to include both flora and fauna With an estimated 2,400

Gt of stored carbon, they account for almost half the terrestrial carbon pool

Forests underpin the livelihood of more than 1.6 billion people More than 2,000 groups of indigenous peoples live in forest ecosystems, which satisfy their basic needs, such as food, energy and health Over three percent of all global trade is in forest products, which are val-

F ued at more than US $ 300 billion per year.Every year, 13 million hectares of forests are

destroyed; deforestation contributes mately 17 to 20 percent of global annual green-house gas emissions, which is approximately 5.8 Gt of carbon dioxide equivalent per year; and, 97 percent of all emissions from deforesta-tion occur in the tropics and sub-tropics (Von

approxi-Scheliha et al., 2009).

These facts show how important our forests are In line with the International Year of Forests (IYF), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) supports national initiatives and cam-paigns in raising the importance and profi les of for-ests and continues to enhance efforts in address-ing forest and forest-related issues in the region

Forests harbor a treasure trove of plants and animals crucial to keeping the ecological balance.

Forests in the ASEAN

Forests in the ASEAN

region may be categorized

according to functions:

pro-tection, production,

recre-ational, conservation and

protected areas

Ecologi-cally, they may be classified

as mangroves, freshwater

swamps, peat swamps,

mixed dipterocarps and

montane or evergreen

for-ests More intact forests

are found in protected or

conservation areas like

the ASEAN Heritage Parks

(AHP) Mostly terrestrial

forests, AHPs are special

protected areas that are of

high conservation

impor-tance because they harbor

spectacular biodiversity

Forest cover in the

ASEAN region has

de-creased considerably not

only due to natural

calami-ties but also due, among

others, to destructive and

illegal logging, conversion

for agriculture and human

settlement Figure 1 shows

the trends of forest area in

the ASEAN region for the

period 1980-2007

Products and services

provided by ASEAN

forests

Millions of people,

es-pecially local communities

and indigenous peoples,

are very much dependent

on forests for their food,

shelter and livelihood

For-ests are important sources

of forest products for local

communities like fuel wood,

bamboo, rattans, honey,

resin and medicinal plants

Likewise, forests, especially those under sustainable for-est management, contribute

to combating desertifi tion; conserving biodiversity;

Figure 1 Trends of forest area in the ASEAN region, 1980-2007

Provisioning Services Cultural Services Regulating Services Supporting Services

Food crops, fiber crops and fuel

Genetic resources Biochemicals Freshwater

Spiritual resources and religious values Knowledge system Education and Inspiration Recreational and aesthetic beauty

Pollination and seed dispersal

Climate regulation Pest and disease regulation Natural hazards protection Erosion regulation/soil stabilization Protect water resources (infiltration, purification and flow control)

Primary productionProvision of habitat Nutrient cycling Soil formation and retention

Product of atmospheric oxygen

Water cycling

Table 1 Different goods and services provided by forests

Local communities depend on the vast resources offered by forests.

Photo courtesy of Nilo Rivera

Photo courtesy of Nonie Reyes, BusinessMirror

ASEAN Heritage Parks and forests in Southeast Asia

producing goods;

protect-ing soil; providprotect-ing water and

other environmental

servic-es, providing

socio-econom-ic-socio-cultural services

and livelihood support; and

contributing to poverty

al-leviation Table 1 shows the

different goods and services

that forests provide us

on forests

ASEAN Member States are parties to a number of international agreements

on forests These include the United Nations Frame-work Convention on Cli-mate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and United

(UNFF)

• The UNFCCC invites parties to further strengthen and sup-port ongoing efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and for-est degradation on a voluntary basis

• The CBD’s Programme

logical Diversity sion VI/22) develops coordinated response strategies and action plans at the global, regional and nation-

(Deci-al levels; promotes maintenance and res-toration of biodiversity

in forests to enhance

ASEAN Member

State

Profile / Description Forests ASEAN Heritage Parks

Brunei Brunei is 78 percent forested

and mangrove forests cover four percent of the total area Forests are categorized as protection, production, recreational, conservation and national parks

Ecologically, they are classified

as mangroves, freshwater swamp, peat swamps, mixed dipterocarps, kerangas and montane

Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park Visitors can walk under the rainforest canopy or stroll

along the beautiful lakeside walkways They can also join the different ethnic groups in celebrating the Adau Gayoh festival to celebrate the spirit of unity, uphold the ethnic group’s traditions and cultural identity, and express their gratitude for good harvest

Cambodia Cambodia’s forests are divided

into protected areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, community protected areas and protected landscapes), multiple-use area and protection forests

Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park The park is predominantly covered with moist

tropical evergreen forests to dwarf montane on the top of a mountainous plateau Other forest types include virgin lowland forest, dry dipterocarp and mixed deciduous in the north Activities include protection, monitoring of wildlife and community outreach programs

Virachey National Park Dense semi-evergreen lowland and montane forests, and

occasional patches of mixed deciduous forests dominate the Park’s vegetation The most widespread habitat is the tropical evergreen rainforest, most of which are in pristine condition

In both parks, visitors can go bird watching, mountain climbing and trekking

Indonesia Geologically, the country has

snow and tundra in the mountain peaks of Papua, and tropical rainforest in Sumatra and Kalimantan There are conservation, preserved, limited production, fixed production and conversable production forests

Forests are also classified as tropical rainforest and monsoonal tropical forests

Kerinci Seblat National Park The park is home to Asia’s oldest tropical rainforest It is

the highest mountain in Sumatra and the second highest in Indonesia It has lowland, hill, sub-montane, lower montane, mid-montane, upper montane and the sub-alpine forests Many visitors from all over the world climb Gunung Kerinci where the view at the top is awesome

Gunung Leuser National Park The park is the core of Sumatra’s tropical rainforest

heritage and includes lowland evergreen dipterocarp forest, lower and upper mountain rainforest, peat swamp forest, forest over limestone and sub-alpine meadows Tourists can go mountain climbing, rafting, kayaking, canoeing and caving

Lorentz National Park The park is Asia’s largest single protected area with

snow-capped mountains and glaciers It has two distinct zones: swampy lowlands, virgin forests and the high mountain and snowfields area of the Central Cordillera The park has very rich biodiversity and cultural community

Lao PDR Forests are classified based on

altitude, rainfall, kind and dominance of tree species and the types of plant communities present These include lowland forests (wet evergreen, semi-evergreen, mixed deciduous, deciduous dipterocarps and lowland pine woodlands), montane (evergreen and hill evergreen), and azonal habitats (zonal communities)

Nam Ha National Protected Area Most of the area is covered by mixed deciduous

forest Along the top of the mountain ranges are dry evergreen forests Tropical and sub-tropical forest types include evergreen gallery forests, semi-evergreen forests, sub-tropical, sub-montane and limestone forests With its spectacular views, caves, and waterfalls and several minority groups, the park has high cultural, ecological and nature tourism potential

ASEAN Member

State

Profile / Description Forests ASEAN Heritage Parks

Malaysia Approximately, 60 percent of the

total area is forested, classified

as permanent reserved forests, state land forests, national parks, and wildlife and bird sanctuaries

Gunung Mulu National Park The park’s second highest mountain peak in Sarawak

characterized by gigantic limestone caves and tropical forests Geological formations include a large sandstone mountain and two smaller limestone mountains The park has one of the most extensive and spectacular limestone cave systems on earth There are four show caves developed for visitors: Deer Cave, Lang’s Cave, Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave Visitors can also experience jungle trekking and nights walks; and view the plant life while on the canopy skywalk

Kinabalu National Park The park stretches from the lowlands to the peak of the

highest mountain in Borneo This range includes hill dipterocarp forests, sub-montane forests and stunted upper montane heath rhododendron The granitic massif of Mt Kinabalu offers a range of opportunities for hikers, scramblers and rock climbers Likewise, it is known for its intimate connection with the folklore and local traditions of Sabah

Taman Negara National Park The park is the first and oldest protected area of

Malaysia It is generally hilly and mountainous Lowland dipterocarp forests dominate the area and comprise about 57 percent of plants in the park The most popular activities include river cruising and jungle trekking The park also has the longest rainforest canopy walk

Myanmar Myanmar is endowed with

strikingly different forests including snow-capped mountains that are over 6,000 meters high

About 50 percent of the country

is covered with forests, of which

24 percent are reserved and protected public forests

Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park Its forests are classified according to elevation:

moist upper mixed deciduous forests, dry upper mixed deciduous forests, lower mixed deciduous teak forest, indaing dry dipterocarp forests and pine forests on higher ridges The park offers excellent opportunities for study and recreation

Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary This is an inland lake dominated by moist upper

mixed deciduous and semi-evergreen forests on the mountainous terrain

The park offers excellent opportunities for study and recreation Visitors can participate

in or view traditional fishing practices They can also see famous pagodas

Hkakaborazi National Park This is Myanmar’s largest park and highest mountain It is

also the highest snow-capped mountain in Southeast Asia The dominant forests include evergreen, hill, and moist upper mixed deciduous forests Many outdoor enthusiasts climb the challenging Mt Hkakaborazi and other nearby mountain ranges The park also provides insights into the traditional culture and customs of the Kachin Hill Tribe

Lampi Marine National Park The Park is comprised of seas, coral reefs, beaches,

mangroves and an inhabited lowland tropical evergreen which is very rare and precious Visitors will enjoy the jungle walks, great fishing, kayaking and a chance to encounter the Moken Sea Gypsies

Meinmhala Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary The Park has some natural mangrove forests

generally used for research

Philippines The country’s forest is

approximately 24 percent of its total area It consists of dipterocarp/lowland rainforests, mossy/montane/cloud forests, coastal and mangrove forests, pine and sub-marginal forests and peat swamp forests

Mount Apo Natural Park This is the country’s highest mountain Its distinct forest

formations include lowland, low montane, high montane summit or scrub forests Mt Apo is a very popular recreation area for hiking and sightseeing It has hotsprings and orchid farms and gardens

Mts Iglit-Baco National Park The large reserve contains montane forest on the main

peaks The eastern portion is composed of multi-strata evergreen forests and dry season deciduous forests Interesting activities include bird and tamaraw watching and mountain climbing

Mount Kitanglad Range Natural Park This is one of the few remaining rainforests in

the Philippines classified as lower montane, upper montane (mossy) The park offers opportunities for mountain climbing, hiking, camping and bird watching

Singapore The country is home to Bukit

Timah Nature Reserve which contains the largest tracts of primary rainforests in the country Most of the trees in the Reserve are rare and of special interest

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve This is the first and only wetland reserve in

Singapore and is home to many tropical flora and fauna Mangroves are dominant in this area The Reserve has patches of secondary forests and is managed for conservation, education, recreation and research

ASEAN Member

State

Profile / Description Forests ASEAN Heritage Parks

Thailand Thailand has four natural

regions: mountains and forests

in the north side, vast rice fields

in the central plains, semi-arid farm lands in the northeast plateau, and the tropical islands and long coastline in peninsula south

Kaeng-Krachan Forest Complex This is comprised of three national parks and one

wildlife sanctuary The complex forms part of a continuous forest complex Eighty percent of the park is covered by dry dipterocarp, mixed deciduous and evergreen forests Popular destinations include waterfalls, caves and several areas with wonderful natural landscape or scenery

Khao Yai National Park The Park has dry evergreen, dry deciduous, tropical moist

evergreen and hill evergreen forests It has the most-developed trails for visitors The park also offers great opportunities to admire the great variety of landscapes, vegetation and wildlife

Tarutao National Park The park has semi-evergreen forests covering over 60 percent

of the island The dominant vegetation type is moist evergreen forest Other types are dry evergreen, mixed deciduous, mangrove, secondary, and beach and scrub forests A number of nature trails lead to panoramic views and superb beaches Visitors can also enjoy boat rides, kayaking, spelunking, bird watching and island hopping

Viet Nam Forests in Viet Nam range from

closed evergreen to deciduous, needle, limestone, mangroves and bamboo

Ba Be National Park This is dominated by limestone mountains covered with thick

forests Typical habitats are freshwater lakes, limestone and lowland evergreen forests Aside from its beautiful natural landscapes, the park offers opportunities for boat ride, trekking and visits to local communities

Chu Mom Ray National Park The park has two major forest types: the lowland

evergreen and the lower montane evergreen forests There are many interesting sights and hill tribe villages in the fringes of this park

Hoang Lien Sa Pa National Park The park has three types of forests: sub-montane

dry evergreen forest, tropical montane deciduous forests, and sub-alpine forest With its various natural landscapes, the park hosts community-based tourism

Konh Ka Kinh National Park A large range of montane evergreen forests can be found

in elevation above 700 meters Other forests include mixed coniferous and broadleaf forest The park offers scenic landscapes and other natural features for visitors Popular activities are trekking and bird watching

their capacity to

re-sist and recover from

and adapt to climate

change; and promotes

forest diversity

conser-vation and restoration

in climate change

miti-gation and adaptation

measures

• The CBD’s Programme

of Work on Protected

Areas and on

Incen-tive Measures

(Deci-sion VII/28)

ar-eas); and the creation

of incentives for

inte-gration of biodiversity for all sectors

• UNFF 4 Global tives on Forests has Objective 1 – to re-verse the loss of for-est cover worldwide through sustainable forest management, including protection, restoration, afforesta-tion and increase ef-forts to prevent forest degradation

Objec-Some challenges and opportunities to be con-sidered, among others, include forests for people, community-based liveli-hood for local communities and indigenous peoples

in the forests, and erty eradication Billions

pov-of people are very much dependent on the services provided by the forests

Policies and governance should be reviewed, en-hanced and attuned to the present needs, integrating climate change and oth-

er environmental issues

Communication, education and public awareness ac-tivities should be enhanced and consciousness build-ing should be promoted

at all levels Environmental education should be at the community level and con-duct of information cam-paign in communities and schools in the restoration and safeguarding of forests should be encouraged

References

1 ASEAN Centre for versity, 2010 The ASEAN Heritage Parks: A Journey

Biodi-to the Natural Wonders of Southeast Asia Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines 310 pages.

2 ASEAN Biodiversity look, 2010 ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.

Out-3 versity.org/biss/index php?option=com

http://bim.aseanbiodi-4 Regional and Subregional Inputs to UNFF9 Prepared

by ASEAN Secretariat January 2011.

5 Von Scheliha, S., B Hecht

& T Christopherson 2009 Biodiversity and Liveli- hoods: REDD Benefits Published by GTZ and SCBD.

6 www.fao.org/forestry/icam

7 groves

www.fao.org/forestry/man-*Dr Monina T Uriarte and Ms

Rhia C Galsiam are Capacity Development Specialist and Capacity Development Officer, respectively, at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.

Introduction / Overview

ropical forests are the richest terrestrial ecosystems (FAO, 2011) in terms of bio-logical diversity Covering a vast area of the earth’s surface and supporting about two-thirds of the world’s terrestrial biodiver-sity, forests suffer the most widespread form

of conversion and degradation Owing to the multiple uses and benefits derived from forest ecosystems, anthropogenic actions have mod-ified much of the landscape Many consider the modification of the forest ecosystems as one of the defining features in the progression

of human societies Perhaps this is where the most conspicuous threat posed by human ac-tivities on biodiversity is reflected (ACB, 2010)

Species richness and diversity in forest

The Status of ASEAN’s

Forest Biodiversity and Solutions to Forest

vital resources They have

been used by humans since

time immemorial, providing

a range of goods such as

wood, food and medicine

(FAO, 2011)

Southeast Asia has one

of the most diverse forest

ecosystems in the world

Several types of forests are

spread all throughout the

region, the characteristics

of which vary from country

to country (ACB, 2010) A

number of endemic plant

and animal species that are

dependent on the health

of forest ecosystems are

located in the region but

they are at risk owing to

the pressure exerted on its

habitat The hotspot

coun-tries of Indonesia, Malaysia

and the Philippines

har-bor more endemic species

compared to the rest of

Asia that includes China,

India, Japan, and Korea

But they also have a

con-siderable number of

threat-ened species of

amphib-ians, birds, mammals and

reptiles (ACB, 2010)

tional Union for tion of Nature (IUCN) re-ported that the Philippines had the highest number of critically endangered and endangered native species

Conserva-Indonesia has the highest number of vulnerable na-tive species, followed by Malaysia and Viet Nam In terms of threatened native plant species, the ASEAN ranks third in Asia, with China and Japan being first and second, respectively (ACB, 2010)

The transformation of ests in the region has been quite extensive over the last 50 years Almost 8,000 years ago, the entire region was covered by forests As

for-of 2000, only 47 percent for-of the ASEAN region was for-ested, with Brunei Darus-salam, Cambodia, Indone-sia, Malaysia and Myanmar having more than 50 percent

of their total land area under forest cover By 2007, the for-est cover of the entire region was down by four percent-age points, at 43 percent

1980 to 2007, the ASEAN forests have decreased by a total of 555,587 square kilo-meters, an area roughly the size of Thailand; or by an an-nual average rate of 20,578 square kilometers, an area almost 29 times the size of Singapore (ACB, 2010)

The Global sity Outlook 3 noted the increasing proportion of land surface designated as protected areas This trend

Biodiver-is also manifested in the ASEAN region Since 1950, the designated protected areas have increased by

98 percent in terms of area and by 89 percent in terms

of number The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have the most number of protected areas In terms of coverage, Indonesia, Thai-land and the Philippines have the most expansive areas The ASEAN region has also met the target of having ten percent of its terrestrial land declared as PAs, having established 13.2 percent for such pur-

Mt Apo National Park in Southern Philippines. Photo courtesy of http://enthusiastichiker.wordpress.com/

Southeast Asia has one of the most diverse forest

ecosystems

in the world

Several types

of forests are spread all throughout the region, the characteristics

of which vary from country

to country.

States have exceeded the 10-percent target; and of the six, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and Thailand have set aside more than one fifth of their total land area for protection and conservation

Initiatives that support conservation of forest biodiversity in the ASEAN region

The key to addressing the issues of forest eco-systems depends largely

on effective governance focused on three major areas, namely: the effec-tive enforcement of binding laws and forest policies, engagement of public (par-ticularly communities and local government units) and private stakeholders, and comprehensive programs for the capacity building

of institutions involved in the enforcement of laws There exist efforts being pursued under convention-

al programs such as estation and afforestation,

refor-nity-based forest

manage-ment The establishment

of more conservation areas

and better forest

manage-ment practices are critical

initiatives in saving forest

ecosystems in the region

While current respective

national responses are

con-sidered to be sufficient in

design, two key programs

merit support: the

imple-mentation of forest

certifi-cation programs under the

ambit of sustainable forest

management (SFM) and the

Action Plan on Forest Law

Enforcement, Governance

and Trade (FLEGT)

Sustainable forest

man-agement and the

formula-tion of a forest certificaformula-tion

program are initiatives that

involve close partnerships

between government and

the private sector

The ASEAN Centre for

Biodiversity (ACB), as an

initiative of the ASEAN,

maintains its active

involve-ment in international

dis-cussions which deliberate

on thematic areas such

as payment for ecosystem

services, economic

valua-tion of biodiversity,

taxono-my, invasive alien species,

wildlife enforcement,

cli-and access cli-and benefits sharing, among others It advocates a holistic ap-proach to biodiversity con-servation that emphasizes the importance of synergy among all components of the natural environment

The ACB supports and participates in local and international fora related to Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest car-bon stocks in developing countries (REDD-plus), The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) and PES to facilitate the active involvement of AMS

The ACB strives to ensure that the AMS have a com-mon understanding of cur-rent and emerging issues from a regional standpoint for policy development and implementation

The establishment of protected areas (PAs) re-mains one of the key cor-nerstones of biodiversity conservation They are established as ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHPs) to generate greater aware-

enjoyment and tion of ASEAN’s rich natural heritage, through a regional network of representative protected areas, and to generate greater collabora-tion between AMS in pre-serving their shared natural heritage AHPs are defined

conserva-as “Protected areconserva-as of high conservation importance, preserving in total a com-plete spectrum of repre-sentative ecosystems of the ASEAN region” (ACB, 2010) At present there are

30 AHPs The ACB serves

as the Secretariat of the AHP Committee, with rep-resentatives of the 10 AMS serving as its members

Invasive alien species (IAS) are either plants, ani-mals or microorganisms that have been introduced out-side their natural area, and which exhibit rapid growth, reproduction and dispersal that they are highly com-petitive to native species, destructive and difficult to control, particularly if the new ecosystem lacks the predators or pathogens of their own native range The cost of damage caused by IAS globally is estimated at USD1.4 trillion per annum

and industry has facilitated the mobility of people and goods over the past de-cades Its effect is the in-creased associated trans-port of animals, plants and micro-organisms Shipping, for one, is a major pathway for the unintentional intro-duction of aquatic invaders when, for instance, some species get carried either

in the ballast water or other parts of a vessel

In the ASEAN region, vasive alien species are be-coming a threat to biodiver-sity and the economy They are a major driver of envi-ronmental change in the re-gion, placing considerable constraints on environmen-tal conservation, economic growth, and sustainable development The Conven-tion on Biological Diversity (CBD) calls on Parties to

in-“prevent the introduction

of, control or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, habi-tats or species (Article 8h).”

It has also developed a set of guidelines to assist countries with the imple-mentation of this article.With fi nancial assistance from the European Union, the ACB implemented the Joint Research/Initiatives

on Biodiversity Programme from 2008 to 2010 Through this programme, the ACB provided technical and fi nan-cial aid in the implementa-tion of high quality research projects aimed at address-ing priority problems in the

fi eld of biodiversity vation in the ASEAN region and at promoting regional bridging of institutions and individuals From Septem-ber 2009 to June 2010, Viet Nam implemented the project “Research on Solu-tions to Control the Spread

conser-of Mimosa pigra in Viet Nam

and ASEAN Countries”, which thoroughly described the characteristics and dis-

tribution of Mimosa pigra in

The Golden Apple Snail, Pomacea canaliculata, invades rice fi elds and attacks young rice plants

solutions for the prevention

and control of spread of the

IAS

Lessons learned and

ways forward

To manage and conserve

forests effectively and to

ad-dress the causes of

defores-tation and biodiversity loss,

forest management and

conservation are

continu-ously evolving Forest

con-servation is becoming more

complex as conservationists

attempt to understand and

accommodate the needs

and rights of people who

live in and around forests

(FAO, 2011)

There is a need to

pro-vide the ASEAN Heritage

Parks with continued

sup-port so that countries can

demonstrate that they can

effectively manage the

parks This could

encour-age more partners to

sup-port on-the-ground

proj-ects that will benefit the

parks directly

One of the key

challeng-es in halting biodiversity

loss is the involvement of

the larger stakeholder base

beyond environment and

conservation practitioners

Awareness campaigns

must also target not only

the general public, but also

those outside of the

envi-ronment sector, primarily

the economic development

sectors

Biodiversity must be

mainstreamed outside of

the environment domain

into all relevant and

sec-toral policies and plans As

the economic sector

be-gins to embrace

biodiver-sity and adopt sustainable

strategies, direct impact on

biodiversity is reduced and

ecosystems services are

enhanced

The implementation of

National Biodiversity

Strat-egies and Action Plans

(NBSAPs) must occur at all

sectors and integrate

biodi-versity into national policies

national development plans and strategies; integrate and harmonize multi-sec-toral approaches; encour-age mechanisms for ben-efit sharing; and promote greater synergy between the work of CBD, the Unit-

ed Nations Forum on ests (UNFF) and the United Nations Framework Con-vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (SCBD, 2009)

For-Biodiversity contributes

to business and ment Engaging the busi-ness community and the private sector in promoting biodiversity and business initiatives has been one of the emerging key strate-gies to halt the loss of bio-diversity Business thrives

develop-on biodiversity – ceuticals, petroleum, bio-technology or manufacture – all are in one way or an-other, beneficiaries of the components of biodiversity

pharma-Big companies engaging

on CSR investments, such

as support to rehabilitation

of degraded ecosystems, must be acknowledged and promoted The TEEB for Business (2010) has re-affirmed that the business opportunity for biodiversity and the natural ecosystems

is getting stronger

Biodiversity captures media coverage and pub-lic awareness and gains the attention of leaderships primarily when driven by unusual and extraordinary events Sustained and con-certed campaigns neces-sary to reducing ecosys-tems and biodiversity loss are sorely lacking

The ASEAN region is not only home to biologi-cally significant species and ecosystems, but also

to globally significant and worthy individuals and groups who can champion the cause of conservation

The ACB heralds those little but worthwhile initia-tives that civil society or-

and programs on fisheries, forestry and trade; and into national poverty and de-velopment plans, including Millennium Development Goals (MDG) strategies

A better understanding

of the value of biodiversity can boost political support

to effect changes in the way

we do things and further mobilize financial resources

to address the threats and drivers of biodiversity and ecosystems loss The Eco-nomics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity 2009, which promotes the value of natu-ral wealth from ecosystems services, must continue to earn recognition and un-derstanding at the highest political level and among the economic sectors

There is a great potential for raising revenues from REDD in Indonesia and Cambodia There is, howev-

er, a need to undertake jor improvements in the insti-tutional capacities of REDD countries for such potential revenues to be realized

ma-In recent fora, the AMS have acknowledged the need to implement current commitments on forests, biodiversity and climate change; develop national information sharing net-works; and foster greater capacity building on tech-nical issues There is also

a need to integrate

forest-*Dr Filiberto A Pollisco, Jr and Mr Norman Emmanuel

C Ramirez are Programme Development Specialist and Programme Management Officer, respectively, at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.

References:

ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

2010 ASEAN Biodiversity look Philippines 208 pages ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

Out-2010 The ASEAN Heritage Parks: A Journey to the Natural

Wonders of Southeast Asia Los Baños, Laguna, Philip- pines 310 pages.

Food and Agriculture zation of the United Nations Forest Biodiversity accessed

Organi-on 12 September 2011 at ftp://ftp.fao.org/paia/biodiver- sity/forest_biod_en.pdf Secretariat of the Convention

on Biological Diversity 2009 Report of the Sub-Regional Capacity Building Workshop

on Forest Biodiversity and mate Change 2-5 September

Secretariat of the Convention

on Biological Diversity 2011 Report of the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation and Capacity Building Workshop

on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD-Plus), Includ- ing on Relevant Biodiversity Safeguards 15-18 March

regular individuals are able

to do to impact on society

at large

One of the key challenges in halting biodiversity loss is the

involvement

of the larger stakeholder base beyond environment and conservation practitioners

Forestry cooperation

in the ASEAN region

ecognizing the need to conserve its forest ecosystem, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has

in place a policy framework for forestry ation Policy coordination and decision-making

cooper-on regicooper-onal cooperaticooper-on in the forest sector is the task of the ASEAN Senior Officials on For-estry (ASOF) guided by the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF)

The AMAF is the highest body which handles the ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry It is supported by the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM-AMAF) Under the SOM-AMAF several permanent subsidiary bodies (Board, Sectoral Working Group, Committee) are in charge of the respective cooperation sectors

The permanent subsidiary bodies establish task forces, expert and working groups, e.g., the ASEAN Experts Group on International Forest Policy Processes (AEG-IFPP) and the ASEAN Working Group on a Pan-ASEAN Timber Certifi-cation Initiative (AWG-C), to undertake planning and implementation of specific activities within

a specific time-frame

The ASOF are responsible for policy nation and decision-making in regional coop-eration in the forest sector Under the ASOF, seven experts as well as working groups were established to implement programs and activi-ties, of which the AEG-IFPP and the AWG-C are

coordi-of special interest for forest policy: 1) ASEAN Experts Group on International Forest Policy

R

Researchers inspect trees at a protected area.

AEG-IFPP deals with issues

such as Sustainable Forest

Management (SFM),

nation-al forest programs (NFP),

Forest Law Enforcement

and Governance (FLEG),

and Reducing Emissions

from Deforestation and

Degradation (REDD); 2)

ASEAN Working Group on

a Pan-ASEAN Timber

Cer-tification Initiative (AWG-C)

Understanding forest and

timber certification as an

important tool for promoting

SFM and in view of the

in-creasing demand for

SFM-certified timber worldwide,

the Ad-Hoc Working Group

on a Pan-ASEAN Timber

Certification Initiative (AWG)

was created in 2002 to

ex-plore concrete measures

for regional cooperation in

timber certification between

ASEAN Member States;

3) ASEAN Experts Group

(AEG) on CITES

(Conven-tion on Interna(Conven-tional Trade

in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora); 4)

ASEAN Wildlife

Enforce-ment Network

(ASEAN-WEN); 5) ASEAN Social

Forestry Network (ASFN);

6) ASEAN Experts Group

(AEG) on Research and

De-ucts; and 7) ASEAN Experts Group (AEG) on Herbal and Medical Plants

ASEAN cooperation

ASEAN cooperation

in the agricultural sector started as early as 1968, including food production and supply In 1977, the scope of cooperation was broadened to cover the greater area of agriculture and forestry as the needs have increased Currently, the specific areas under the ASEAN cooperation in food, agriculture and for-estry includes food secu-rity, food handling, crops, livestock, fisheries, agri-cultural training and ex-tension, agricultural coop-eratives, forestry and joint cooperation in agriculture, and forest products pro-motion scheme

The basic objective of the ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and For-estry is to formulate and implement regional coop-eration activities to enhance the international competi-tiveness of ASEAN’s food, agriculture and forestry products as well as further

curity arrangement in the region and joint position in international forums

The ASEAN tural Community (ASCC) Blueprint ensures environ-mental sustainability This includes, among others, in-tensified regional coopera-tion on global environmen-tal issues, conservation of biological diversity, as well

Socio-Cul-as promotion of able forest management (SFM) and eradication of unsustainable practices including combating illegal logging and its associated trade In order to address environmental issues ef-fectively, the ASCC Blue-print calls for a holistic approach in regional coop-eration

sustain-In forest policy, ASEAN Member States have been pursuing a comprehensive policy approach by imple-menting the concept of NFP In order to achieve SFM, the NFP has been the framework for the work of the ASOF and their expert and working groups

Further basic policy uments include the ASEAN Vision 2020, released in

doc-December 1997, which derlines the region’s com-mitment for a common un-derstanding to “promote the forestry sector as a model

un-in forest management, conservation and sustain-able development” This Vision is further elaborated through the adopted Decla-ration of ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II) in October

2003 where ASEAN derscored its commitment

un-to the Johannesburg Plan

of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustain-able Development (WSSD) The ASEAN Vision 2020 calls for the promotion of forestry as a model for sus-tainable development by harmonizing environmental, social, and economic poli-cies among the ten Member States Creating conditions favorable to SFM - an entry point for governance reform

- is a key national and gional public management challenge

re-ASEAN Regional Knowledge Networks

The ASEAN Regional Knowledge Networks (ARKNs) on FLEG and REDD were established based on the decisions

of the Eleventh ing of the ASOF, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Meet-on July 31 - August 1,

2008, to promote the use of regional knowl-edge network, among others, to broaden the ASEAN base of knowledge in forestry The main objective of these Networks is to support ASOF and the AMAF in decision-mak-ing and implementation processes by providing specific policy-oriented and focused research and policy analysis

Photo courtesy of Green Community

learn-ing platform to facilitate

forest policy coordination

and policy learning among

the ASEAN Member States

and beyond It is designed

to promote networking and

holistic knowledge

man-agement between ASEAN

stakeholders, processes

and institutions The tool

is managed by the ASEAN

Secretariat and serves as

an institutional hub of the

new networked and

knowl-edge-based ASEAN It is

an essential instrument of

information and knowledge

sharing and communication

for forestry-related ASEAN

mechanisms, such as

ASEAN expert and

work-ing groups and the ASEAN

knowledge networks, and

helps organizing exchange

and interaction with other

ASEAN stakeholders and

the broader public Since

its first launch in 2004, the

CHM has been evolving

from managing data and

in-formation towards

captur-ing knowledge (e.g series

of ASEAN-German ReFOP

Briefing Papers, ARKN Briefing Papers) and trans-lating knowledge into appli-cation and innovation The latter includes the CHM’s role as a communication platform for the ASEAN Re-gional Knowledge Networks (ARKN) on forest policy pri-orities in the region which are FLEG and forests and climate change, in particular REDD The ARKNs provide policy-oriented research to better inform policy deci-sion-making and implemen-tation by the AMAF/ASOF

The ASEAN Secretariat manages the interface be-tween these complemen-tary formal and informal mechanisms, among oth-ers, through the CHM

In this context, the CHM significantly contributes

to oversee the ity and interconnectedness

complex-of forest policy issues and processes In the current phase of development, fo-cus will be on the human dimension of KM, e.g., cap-turing tacit knowledge (e.g., policy briefs by ARKN mem-bers, lessons learned) and managing exchange and networking among ASEAN stakeholders

The CHM provides all ers access to work-related information and knowledge and enables them to make contact with the respective sources While managed by

us-ASOF community, members

of the regional knowledge networks, ASEAN partners and other ASEAN stake-holders are responsible for actively producing, upload-ing and maintaining their re-spective products retaining full responsibility and own-ership of their inputs into the CHM This custodian-ship is important because

it places the responsibility for timelines, maintenance, access and other issues squarely where it belongs,

on the initial producer or provider However, equally pertinent is a mechanism

of quality control and dardization to be overseen

stan-by the ASEAN Secretariat

Sustainable Forest Management

Sustainable Forest agement (SFM) aims to

Man-social, cultural, and ronmental services provided

envi-by forests meet the needs

of the current generation, while at the same time maintaining their availability for the development needs

of future generations spite a long history of forest conversion and forest deg-radation due to unsustain-able logging practices, the natural forests of Southeast Asia still constitute an im-mense renewable resource and provide vital contribu-tions to the economic and social development of the region Invariably, the coun-tries of the region are com-mitted to the principle of SFM, as expressed in their respective forest policies and/or sector strategies In line with international poli-

De-cy debates (e.g., UNCED, 1992: Rio Declaration and Forest Principles) the defi-nition of SFM applied by these countries has gradu-ally evolved from a focus on sustained timber production

to sustainable forest agement that embraces the full range of economic, environmental and social aspects

man-ASEAN Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests

Criteria and tors for sustainable forest

indica-Forests provide a host of products such as wooden furniture.

oped to provide countries

with a framework for

de-fining sustainable forest

management and

assess-ing progress towards this

goal They are tools to help

identify trends in the forest

sector and the effects of

forest management

inter-ventions over time, and

to facilitate decision

mak-ing in national forest policy

processes The ultimate

aim of these tools is to

promote improved forest

A total set of seven criteria

for monitoring and

assess-ing sustainable management

of tropical forests in ASEAN

were identifi ed, as well as 59

indicators These indicators

cover a range of forestry

as-pects required to attain

sus-tainable forest management,

from economic and

institu-tional frameworks;

descrip-tion of resource base and

conservation and protection

procedures; areas damaged

by human activities and

natural causes; resource

assessment and planning

procedures for forest

har-vesting; species and

ge-netic diversity; management

guidelines for reduced/low

impact logging; the

protec-tion of soil productivity and

downstream catchment

val-ues; and endangered, rare

and threatened species,

in-cluding procedures for their

monitoring and evaluation;

utilization of wood and

non-wood forest products; and

employment; to community

participation

Monitoring, Assessment

and Reporting Format

for Sustainable Forest

Management in ASEAN

Achieving sustainable

management of forest is

the ultimate goal of any

forest management

prac-tices All forest

organiza-especially those directly volved in the management, conservation and develop-ment of forest resources are responsible to carry out effective monitoring, assessment and reporting

in-on the forest management practices implemented, based on the principles of sustainable forest manage-ment through the use of agreed criteria and indica-tors They are tools to help identify trends in the forest sector and the effects of forest management inter-ventions over time, and

to facilitate decision ing in national forest policy processes

mak-National Forest Programs

In order to address ronmental issues effective-

envi-ly, the ASCC Blueprint calls for a holistic approach in regional cooperation In for-est policy, ASEAN Member States have been pursuing

a comprehensive policy proach by implementing the concept of national for-est programs (NFP) The concept is based on the

ap-“Forest Principles”, agreed

at the UN Conference on Environment and Devel-opment in 1992 in Rio as the first global consensus

on the management, servation and sustainable development of all types of forests

con-An NFP constitutes a participatory, holistic, in-ter-sectoral and iterative process of policy planning, implementation, moni-toring and evaluation at national and subnational level with the objective of SFM as a contribution to sustainable development

NFPs are

country-specif-ic, though following cific principles: national sovereignty and country leadership with a clear commitment to SFM and assuming responsibility

spe-strengthening coordination

of international support to advance the country-driv-

en NFP process; tency within and beyond the forest sector address-ing decentralization and devolution efforts as well

consis-as integrating SFM into overarching processes at the national level such as national strategies for sus-tainable development, rel-evant national action plans and poverty reduction strategies; and partnership and participation with a view of finding consensus among stakeholders, re-solving conflicts and build-ing alliances, paired with transparency and public accountability

NFP processes are ible in integrating new chal-lenges and policy agendas deriving from the interna-tional discussion, such as FLEGT and REDD They combine protection and sustainable use of natural resources with economic and social development, thus reflecting key inten-tions of the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Declaration

flex-on Envirflex-onmental ability

Sustain-Forest and Timber Certification

In view of the worldwide increasing demand for cer-tified timber, and under-standing forest and timber certification as an important tool for promoting SFM, a number of ASEAN Member States embarked during the 1990s on the development

of national forest and ber certification schemes

tim-Several national standards for forest certification of natural and planted forests were created, taking into account the design of IT-TOs C&I for SFM of natu-ral tropical forests and/or FSCs Principles and Cri-teria for forest On ASEAN level, Regional Criteria and

Management of Natural Tropical Forests were pub-lished in 2000

ASEAN Working Group

on a Pan-ASEAN Timber Certification Initiative (AWG-C)

Within the ASEAN ber States, the enabling conditions and the situa-tion in the context of for-est certification vary sig-nificantly This led to the establishment of the Tech-nical Working Group on a Pan-ASEAN Timber Certi-fication Initiative (AWG-C), entrusted with the develop-ment of a regional guideline for a Phased-approach to Forest Certification (PACt) The guideline or regional policy framework shall sup-port a step-by-step pro-cess to achieve SFM within each member state The working group ranked the development of a regional timber legality standard as the first phase of the PACt

Mem-In this context, the group agreed on six elements to

be included in the regional timber legality standard, and currently drafts the re-lated criteria and indicators

of the standard, to be ther interpreted on member state level

fur-The AWG currently velops the criteria and indi-cators of the ASEAN timber legality standard (based on the agreed upon six ele-ments) and drafts a regional guideline on Chain-of-Cus-tody (CoC) National inter-pretations of the regional timber legality standard shall follow The AWG con-ducted several capacity-building activities on certi-fication, legality verification and changing requirements

de-of international timber kets

mar-Reference:

chm.org

http://www.aseanforest-orests are home to nearly 90 percent

of the world’s biodiversity (World Bank 2004) Local communities depend on forests as a source of fuel, food, medicines and shelter It directly supports the livelihoods of 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty (World Bank 2004) Forests also provide essential ecosystem services such as watershed protection, water fl ow regulation, nutrient cy-cling, rainfall generation and disease regulation (Global Canopy Foundation 2009) Old growth forest absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmo-sphere, offsetting man-made emissions

Previous approaches to reduce emissions have been unsuccessful A new framework, Re-ducing Emissions from Deforestation and For-est Degradation (REDD), was conceptualized with the basic idea being that “countries that are willing and able to reduce emissions from deforestation should be financially compensat-

ed for doing so”

Reducing Emissions from

Deforestation and Forest Degradation

F The UNFCCC (2007) COP13 reports that to REDD is primarily about emission reductions

mitigate climate change, REDD should include the following: policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest deg-radation in developing countries; and the role

of conservation, the sustainable management

of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries

More recently, the “Plus” in REDD-Plus has attracted increasing attention towards activities related to the conservation and enhancement

of carbon stocks This could address climate change and rural poverty while conserving bio-diversity and sustaining vital ecosystem ser-vices

During the ASEAN Conference on sity in October 2009, it was acknowledged that deforestation leads to loss of species, as well

Biodiver-as the increBiodiver-ase of greenhouse gBiodiver-as emissions to

ference participants

gener-ally agreed to pursue REDD

as a key strategy to climate

change adaptation and

mitigation efforts, as well

as biodiversity conservation

in the region, provided that

the approach be applied

to all ecosystems and not

on terrestrial ecosystems

alone; and that it should be

focused more towards

re-gional perspectives rather

than mainly at the country

and local levels Numerous

issues surrounding REDD

remain under negotiation

Significant messages that

came out of the conference

were:

• The definition of

“for-est” must be reviewed

in light of the UNFCCC

definition, which

con-siders “plantations”

of any tall growing

monoculture (e.g oil

palm) as “forest.”

• REDD+ has to pursue

long-term goals with

ambitious targets, that

is: to halve the gross

deforestation/forest

degradation by 2010

Its long-term proach should include all land uses; but for the short- to medium-term: to review and implement the previ-ous agreements on REDD before expand-ing its scope further

ap-• REDD mechanisms must begin by having firm agreements at the smallest-scale and most local level before

it is elevated to higher ground

• Communication and public awareness ac-tivities on REDD must

be enhanced; more involvement and par-ticipation from key stakeholders, includ-ing indigenous peo-ples and the business sector, must be en-couraged on climate change and other en-vironmental agenda

• Financing nisms and schemes must be studied thor-oughly to determine whether to continue

mecha-support or move wards self-financing

to-• A general framework

is needed – flexible enough to meet the different countries’

needs

The ASEAN region cases some successful REDD initiatives, specifi cally

show-in Cambodia and Viet Nam

Cambodia

The REDD project in the Seima Biodiversity Con-servation Area (SBCA) is the second REDD pilot site

in Cambodia, but the fi rst one in a conservation area

The area used to be a ging concession prior to the creation of the SBCA in

log-2002 It is inhabited by the Bunong minority, an indig-enous peoples group that

is described as having low literacy, small in numbers and of weak political clout

In determining the success

of a REDD project, accurate predictions of deforestation rates must be determined

This can provide sound mates of tons of carbon that

esti-the REDD management tem must be able to provide strong additionality, and law enforcement activities and community incentives for forest protection must be included in the strategy The project offi cially began in October 2008 The fi rst ac-tivities included staff train-ing, actual data collection for carbon stock surveys, and baseline analysis to re-cord and project deforesta-tion rates Fundraising for implementation is ongoing, along with the writing and certifi cation of the Project Design Document In six

sys-to twelve months, the fi rst credits will be ready to be brought to market

Viet Nam

In Viet Nam, there exists the potential and willing-ness on the part of gov-ernment to include REDD

as part of its strategy on climate change response

A national framework has been developed, particular-

ly in linking it with the ing policy on PES Start-up

exist-Anew report from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological

Diver-sity (CBD), REDD-Plus and BiodiverDiver-sity (CBD Technical Series No 59),

provides technical and scientific information on the ways to ensure that the

design and implementation of REDD-plus policies support the objectives

of the CBD

REDD-Plus refers to policies for reducing emissions from deforestation

and forest degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable

management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in

de-veloping countries that are promoted under the United Nations

Frame-work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The REDD-Plus and Biodiversity report aims to: outline potential benefi ts

of REDD-Plus for biodiversity and indigenous and local communities;

dem-onstrate the importance of biodiversity and indigenous and local community

co-benefi ts for the long-term success of REDD-Plus; outline possible risks

of REDD-Plus for biodiversity and indigenous and local communities, with

a view to contributing to the development or improvement of appropriate

policy recommendations; outline ways in which the CBD can contribute to

the success of REDD-Plus, and in turn, outline the potential ways in which

REDD-Plus can contribute to the objectives of the CBD; and present various

tools for achieving multiple benefi ts in planning and implementing REDD-Plus

activities

New publication outlines biodiversity elements

for design and implementation of REDD-Plus

For in-depth information and news on biodiversity across Southeast

Asia, check out the ASEAN Biodiversity Newsmagazine, the quarterly

international publication of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB)!

ASEAN Biodiversity features special reports on biodiversity-related

themes in the ASEAN context, such as climate change, ecotourism,

transboundary protected areas, and ASEAN Heritage Parks Profi les on

protected areas provide information on the status of habitats and wildlife,

and interesting activities in the parks A pull-out section on specifi c

species can be interesting reference materials for researchers and

students The magazine also features ongoing programs and activities of

ACB that assist ASEAN Member States in addressing various biodiversity

conservation issues

ACB welcomes contributions from volunteer writers and photographers

who want to help popularize biodiversity Interested parties may contact

Mr Rolando Inciong, Editor-in-Chief of ASEAN Biodiversity

at rainciong@aseanbiodiversity.org, or Ms Leslie Castillo at

lavjose@aseanbiodiversity.org, or call ACB at (+632) 928-3210

and (+632) 929-4147

For more information visit the ACB website at

www.aseanbiodiversity.org

ASEAN Biodiversity magazine online

ment of benefi ts, and where carbon sequestration efforts can be undertaken to opti-mize co-benefi ts within the country Agencies primarily responsible for REDD have

to be established There is also the need to establish governance mechanisms that will allow proper mea-surement and the equitable transfer of payments from the buyers to all stakehold-ers

REDD activities may lead

to losses or costs in other conservation programs or areas, thus resulting in leak-age One way to avoid this

is to establish a national counting system to take all benefits and costs into ac-count Viet Nam is interest-

ac-ed in cooperating with its neighbors to start work on

an international ing system in order to avoid leakage at the international level

account-ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook

activities include

partner-ing with international donor

agencies in reviewing REDD

methodologies and

set-ting up national

institution-al mechanisms Capacity

building activities are being

undertaken, from technical

workshops to public

aware-ness-raising and the lishment of public-private partnerships

estab-Prospects are bright for REDD to be established in the country However, there are a number of challenges and constraints that need

to be overcome in order to

meet Viet Nam’s REDD gets In terms of implemen-tation issues, for instance, purchases are made at the global level, making monitor-ing much harder and more complex There are also is-sues on co-benefi ts, how to put proper systems in place

tar-Photo courtesy of Nonie Reyes, BusinessMirror

Majestic trees

iodiversity is defined as total diversity not only in the species and genetic levels, but also in diversity in the level of eco-systems and habitats as a result of the inter-action between living things with the physical environment where they live

Watershed as an ecosystem is part of Earth’s biodiversity There are ecosystems in watershed areas These include forest ecosys-tem, river stream ecosystem, lake or pond eco-system, farmland ecosystem in downstream of river, where all are influenced and connected

by biophysical condition of watershed

When a watershed is good condition, this means that the relationships among all compo-nents including biotic and abiotic factors such

as flora, fauna, topographic condition, slope, rock and soil type, climatic condition, and hu-man activity, are balanced A healthy watershed

is one that is able to maintain natural sity Sustainability can also be determined from the watershed’s physical condition Indicators

biodiver-of good physical condition include vegetation

cover, water flow continuity, erosion and mentation on river body or river banks

sedi-A healthy watershed provides priceless vironmental services and benefits for humans and their livelihood Watershed can ensure the availability of fresh potable water, maintain wa-ter for farmland irrigation, control flood, pro-duce fresh air for humans to breathe, and keep soils fertile in order to maintain the productivity

en-of farms Watershed can also be used for cational purposes like research and recreation Biodiversity can be well protected in a healthy watershed environment Watershed provides a comfortable habitat for many plant and animal species

edu-A degraded watershed is characterized by extreme erosion and sedimentation, drought in dry season, and extreme and muddy streams

in wet season Degradation results in mentation and reduced vegetation cover in the upstream side Such condition can no longer support animal and plant populations Habi-tat destruction in watershed areas will have

sedi-Watershed and biodiversity

far-reaching effects Due

to degradation, watershed

will lose its ability to catch

water, contributing to the

effects of drought, flood,

landslides and loss of soil

fertility Biodiversity may

also decrease in quality

and quantity owing to the

lack of water supply from

the watershed In the end,

this will be detrimental to

human life

The drivers of watershed

degradation include land

use transformation from

forest land to farmland or

commercial plantation and

from forest to settlement

and construction; land

tenure problems;

popula-tion growth; and climate

change The expansion of

cultivated area for

agricul-ture and plantations,

some-times ignoring conservation

rules, accelerate land

deg-radation in watershed areas

This also contributes to

rap-id soil erosion, resulting in a decline in soil nutrition and productivity The expansion

of cultivated land also leads

to soil fertility

One example is the Utan Watershed, one of the small watersheds in Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia Located in the western part of Sumbawa Island, the watershed cov-ers 19,254.84 hectares, administratively through two District areas and eight villages and a river called Brang Utan The Utan Wa-

tershed area is covered by primary forest as protected forest and limited produc-tion forest zone The main forest vegetations include Ketemis, Telutu, Beringin

(Ficus benjamina L) and

Asem (Tamarindus indica)

According to Bird Life national (2001), Sumbawa Island is an endemic birds area for several birds spe-cies such as Burung madu

Inter-mentari (Nectarinia solatis)

and pergam punggung

hi-tam (Ducula lacernulata)

Land use transformation

is evident in the middle and downstream of the Utan Watershed, dominated by dryland agriculture, planta-tions, shrubland, and some savana’s Grazing cattle and goats usually can be seen in the area, since a majority of the residents are farmers Further down-stream, one can encoun-ter more and more paddy field (sawah) and shrubland which are poor in biodiver-sity Human intervention in the area’s land manage-ment has resulted in the decline of biodiversity at the species level

While human activity has

a number of negative ence on watersheds, hu-mans can also have posi-tive contributions when they act as planners and imple-

influ-in watershed areas Many land and forest rehabilita-tion programs are estab-lished to restore watershed condition These programs are also used to improve ecosystems as biodiversity

at the habitat level

Governments must take the lead in promoting co-operation among the public and private sectors, local government, indigenous peoples and non-govern-ment organizations and all those involved in exploit-ing forest and watershed resources Reforestation

programs such as People

Seeds Garden, Social estry, Seed for People, One Man One Tree and One Bil- lion Indonesia Tree for the World are just some of the

For-programs initiated by the Indonesian government in the framework of land and forest rehabilitation

Some sectors believe that these programs can-not reach the target of re-habilitating forests as spe-cies that are being used for replanting are not always the same type of vegeta-tion that used to cover de-graded forests In such situation, the decrease in biodiversity at species level will continue But wide and massive-scale planting of even just one type of spe-cies in watershed ecosys-tems may still promote the return of normal river eco-system, including the resto-ration of hydrological func-tions This could provide opportunities for endemic species to return and live in such habitat

Land and forest bilitation movements must start now, because one tree felled may result in ten disasters

reha-*Mr Ega Denaswidhi, S.Si

is a Forest Ecosystem Controller with Dodokan Moyosari Watershed Management Agency.

Photo by Ega Denaswidhi

Photo by Ismail

Bare land for farmland and plantation

Sediment in downstream, sometimes use as fi shponds

ncome from forests and other natural environments makes a significant con-tribution to the livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries, according to a six-year global study that has documented for the first time on such a scale the role that the environment plays in poverty alleviation.

“The results underscore the importance of sustainably managing forests and other natural environments in developing countries because they provide income to many of the world’s poorest people,” said Frances Seymour, Direc-tor General of the Center for International For-estry Research (CIFOR), which carried out the study

The size of environmental incomes, e.g., wood, game, plants, and other resources har-vested from the wild, has until now been poorly documented, and is not obvious to most poli-cymakers Many existing tools for assessing poverty and income – such as poverty reduc-tion strategy plans, poverty surveys, the World Bank’s Living Standard Measurement Survey, and national income accounting systems – fall short of capturing the importance of the income from natural resources, so that its true value in the livelihoods of the world’s rural poor remains largely invisible

The Poverty and Environment Network (PEN) study consists of data from more than 8,000 households from 60 sites in 24 countries

Among those surveyed, forest income – on average – constitutes more than one-fifth of total household income, while environmental income (forest and non-forest) makes up more than one fourth, according to the preliminary numbers that come out of the study’s global data base

Another surprising finding of the PEN study is that forests do not play a primary role as safe-

ty nets among the households in the survey

“Households respond to shocks mostly through other coping strategies, such as reduced con-sumption, temporary employment, or seek-ing external assistance Forests also seem to have a less than expected role in terms of filling seasonal income gaps, e.g., between crop har-vests, although they may serve a role as a sea-

sonal gap filler at some of the research sites,” said Sven Wunder, Principal Scientist at CIFOR, who has also been leading the study

Typically, all members of a household – men, women, and children – participate in the collec-tion and processing of forest products Contrary

to what has been claimed, men bring as much

or more forest products to the households as women, although there is a clear pattern of women being more involved in subsistence uses

and men in cash-earning activities CIFOR

New global study shows

high reliance on forests among rural poor

from the wild,

has until now

new report from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), REDD-plus and Biodiversity (CBD Technical Series No 59) provides technical and scientific information on the ways to en-sure that the design and implementation of REDD-plus policies support the objectives of the CBD.

REDD-plus refers to policies for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest deg-radation, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests and en-hancement of forest carbon stocks in develop-ing countries that are promoted under the Unit-

ed Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

It is a growing conclusion that climate change, land degradation and biodiversity are interconnected, not only through the effects of climate change on biodiversity and land man-agement, but also through the changes in bio-diversity and ecosystem functioning that affect climate change

Observed changes in climate have already adversely affected biodiversity at the species and ecosystem levels, with further changes

in biodiversity being inevitable with further changes in climate The degradation of many ecosystems is in turn significantly reducing their carbon storage and sequestration capac-ity, leading to increases in emissions of green-house gases

New publication outlines

biodiversity elements for design and implementation

A

Photo courtesy of Zulkarnain

of the solution to

simulta-neously combat climate

change and save

biodiver-sity If well designed and

implemented, REDD-plus

can decrease emissions of

greenhouse gases and

pro-vide considerable benefits

for biodiversity and

liveli-hoods

This potential has been

recognized by the Parties to

the CBD, who invited

Par-ties, other Governments,

and relevant international

and other organizations to

ensure that REDD-plus

ac-tions do not run counter to

the objectives of the CBD,

but support the

implementa-tion of the program of work

on forest biodiversity, and

provide biodiversity benefi ts

for forests, and, where

pos-sible, to indigenous and local

communities (Decision IX/5)

The REDD-plus and

Biodi-versity report aims to: outline

potential benefi ts of

REDD-plus for biodiversity and

indig-enous and local communities;

demonstrate the importance

of biodiversity and indigenous

and local community

co-ben-efi ts for the long-term success

of REDD-plus; outline

pos-sible risks of REDD-plus for

biodiversity and indigenous

and local communities, with

a view to contributing to the

of appropriate policy mendations; outline ways in which the CBD can contribute

recom-to the success of REDD-plus, and in turn, outline the poten-tial ways in which REDD-plus can contribute to the objec-tives of the CBD; and pres-ent various tools for achieving multiple benefi ts in planning and implementing REDD-plus activities

The publication is also tended to contribute to the achievement of the global Strategic Plan for Biodiver-sity 2011-2020, approved

in-at the most recent meeting

of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, in Oc-tober 2010 in Japan Of the

20 targets to be achieved

by 2020, agreed in Nagoya, the following four are most relevant in the context of REDD-plus: Target 5 - to

at least halve deforestation, and where feasible bring

it close to zero; Target 7 -

to manage all areas under forestry sustainably; Target

11 - to conserve at least 17 percent of terrestrial and in-land water areas; and Tar-get 15 - to restore at least

15 percent of degraded ecosystems, thereby con-tributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating deserti-

fication

Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the CBD, said: “If we are going

to achieve sustainable velopment, and avoid some

de-of the devastating impacts

of climate change on versity, it is imperative that the global community find ways to harmonize the im-plementation of all three Rio conventions REDD-plus offers such an opportunity

biodi-The Secretariat is pleased

to provide this detailed

to the ongoing discussions

on the sustainable use of forest biodiversity.”

The publication also tributes to a broader series

con-of regional consultations and capacity-building workshops

in 2011 and 2012, including with the participation of in-digenous and local commu-nities, as a means to consult effectively with Parties and obtain their views on the application of relevant safe-guards for biodiversity and other aspects of biodiversity within REDD-plus

This includes the tification of possible indi-cators to assess the con-tribution of REDD-plus to achieving the objectives of the CBD, and to assess po-tential approaches to moni-tor impacts on biodiversity from these and other eco-system-based activities for climate change mitigation.The advice on biodiver-sity aspects of REDD-plus developed on the basis of these workshops and views received from Parties will

iden-be presented to the COP for approval at its eleventh meeting, scheduled to take place in India in fall 2012.The document and the other activities of the CBD Secretariat in relation to REDD-plus are being un-dertaken without any inten-tion of pre-empting any fu-ture decisions taken under the UNFCCC

This document and other results of the CBD process

to develop advice on vant biodiversity safeguards

rele-of REDD-plus, and other information on biodiversity co-benefi ts of REDD-plus, will be made available to the UNFCCC through appropri-ate means, including to its Subsidiary Body for Scien-tifi c and Technological Ad-vice (SBSTA) in the context

of its work on REDD-plus safeguards

The REDD-plus and diversity report is available at: www.cbd.int/ts

Bio-“If we are going to achieve sustainable development, and avoid some of the devastating impacts of climate change

on biodiversity,

it is imperative that the global community fi nd ways to harmonize the implementation

of all three Rio conventions.”

ASEAN Champions of

rom mobilizing

stu-dents to educate

their fellow youth on

the values of biodiversity to

supporting forest research

to gather information on the

impact of climate change on

forests, the winners of the fi rst

ASEAN Champions of

Biodi-versity awards are

champi-oning the web of life in their

own spheres of infl uence

HSBC Brunei, the GMA

Network,s Born to be Wild

television program in the

Phil-ippines, and Green

Commu-nity youth organization from

Indonesia are the winners

in the Business, Media and

Youth categories,

respec-tively, of the inaugural ASEAN

Champions of Biodiversity, the

ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

(ACB) announced

The announcement

fol-lowed the launch of the United

Nations Decade in Southeast

Asia in Malacanang and forms

part of the celebration of the

International Day for Biological

Diversity 2011 and the

Interna-tional Year of Forests

Supported by the ASEAN Foundation, the European Union, GIZ, the Government

of Japan through the ASEAN Solidarity Fund, the Secretariat of the Convention

Japan-on Biological Diversity,

UNES-CO and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communica-tion, the ASEAN Champions

of Biodiversity is a recognition

program for ongoing projects

on biodiversity conservation and advocacy in the ASEAN region The award is aimed at generating greater leadership, public and media awareness

of the problems facing the gion’s rich but highly threatened biodiversity and the need for a concerted effort in biodiversity conservation and advocacy

re-Biodiversity announced

business, media and youth categories received their award at a ceremony and forum held in the Philippines HSBC Brunei was recognized for being the fi rst corporation

to support the Heart of neo (HoB) Initiative and for advancing climate change re-search in the forests of Brunei Born to be Wild topped the Media Category for effectively bridging the gap between sci-entists and the public and for going the extra mile in assist-ing viewers in implementing their own conservation initia-tives The study group Green Community won for its efforts

Bor-to introduce young students

to conservation at an early age and bringing the results

of their biodiversity inventory activities to communities in Semarang, Indonesia

PTT Public Company Ltd

of Thailand and Chevron ippines, Inc won second and third place in the Business Category, while The Brunei Times and the Philippines’ BusinessMirror ranked second and third in the Media Catego-

Phil-ry The second and third spot

in the Youth Category were bagged by Sahabat Alam of Indonesia and the Architec-tural Students’ Association of the Philippines – University of the Philippines Diliman Chap-ter (ASAPhil-UP)

“The global target of nifi cantly reducing biodiversity loss remains unmet However, rather than dwell on this grim reality, the best approach is to move forward and continue to take action Now more than ever, biodiversity is in urgent need of champions that peo-ple from various sectors can identify with – modern-day he-roes who can inspire them to take action and conserve bio-diversity Through the ASEAN Champions of Biodiversity, we were fortunate to be acquaint-

sig-ed with individuals and nizations who are working to conserve the web of life,” Mr Rodrigo U Fuentes, executive director of ACB, said

orga-Mr Boon Teck Lim, representing Business Sector Champion HSBC Brunei; orga-Mr Dhita Prasisca

Mutiatari, representing Youth Sector Champion Green Community; and Mr Kiko Rustia,

representing Media Sector Champion Born to be Wild; with awards organizers Dr Ahmed

Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity; Ms Arantzazu Acha,

project offi cer for environmental science unit of UNESCO-Jakarta, Mr Rodrigo U Fuentes,

executive director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity; Dr Berthold Seibert, project manager

of the ACB-GIZ Climate Change Project; Dato Misran Karmain, ASEAN deputy secretary-general

for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community; and Dr Makarim Wibisono, executive director of the

ASEAN Foundation.

F

Wibisono, executive director

of the ASEAN Foundation, the

winners truly exemplify a cadre

of champions who will serve

as ambassadors of goodwill

for biodiversity conservation

and advocacy in the ASEAN

region “The ASEAN

Champi-ons of Biodiversity addresses

the lack of awareness of

ASEAN especially among the

youth as well as the dearth of

information about biodiversity

in the region We hope our

Champions and their

com-mitment to biodiversity

con-servation will inspire others to

give importance and support

various efforts in preserving

the region’s rich biodiversity,”

he said

For Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf,

executive secretary of the

Convention on Biological

Di-versity, recognizing and

pro-moting work in biodiversity

conservation is one of the

best ways to get biodiversity

to the forefront of the

inter-national consciousness He

says that this is particularly

true for Southeast Asia, which

is home to almost a fi fth of all

plant and animal species as

well as to a large proportion of

the world’s population – over

half a billion people

“Allow me to appeal to

governments, NGOs, the

media, businesses, youth

and civil society to continue

supporting the ASEAN

Cen-tre for Biodiversity and the

Champions project The

ac-tions that we take in the next

ten years will determine the

future of biodiversity for the

next centuries, if not

millen-nia Let us celebrate and

emulate the work of

Cham-pions of Biodiversity, and, in

so doing, realize a future of

life in harmony with nature,”

he said

For more information on

the ASEAN Champions of

Biodiversity, log on to www

aseanbiodiversity.org or www

aseanfoundation.org The

Secretariat may be reached

via e-mail at

87 countries, HSBC recognizes the direct link between the well-being

of the environment and the sustainability of our businesses.”

– Mr Vincent HoCEO, HSBC Brunei

Deposits, withdrawals, loans, credit cards, investments, bills pay-ment and internet banking – all these come to mind when the word “bank” is mentioned In the case

of HSBC in Brunei russalam, however, the business of banking is not confined to manag-ing accounts and handling day-to-day transactions

Da-With its climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation activities in the Heart of Borneo, the global bank is showing Bruneians and the rest of the world that investing in the environment makes sound business sense

Supporting the Heart

of Borneo Initiative

Known for its unique wildlife and pristine tropi-cal rainforests, the Heart

of Borneo spans 22 lion hectares stretching across the territories of

mil-Brunei Darussalam, nesia and Malaysia The rainforest has more than 15,000 species of flower-ing plants, including 3,000 species of trees It is also home to 13 different pri-mates, including orang-utans and proboscis mon-keys The Heart of Borneo provides a habitat to 44 endemic mammals such

Indo-as the rhino and dwarf ephants, and cradles 39 endemic bird species, 160 species of fish, 100 en-demic amphibian species,

el-47 lizards, and 41 snakes

This richness, however,

is threatened by able logging practices In the mid-1990s, Borneo’s forest cover was calculat-

unsustain-ed at 75 percent By 2005, only 50 percent remained

Borneo lost an average of 850,000 hectares of an-

nually within that 15-year period

Realizing the importance

of the Heart of Borneo, HSBC Brunei decided to lend its support to the con-servation of the transbound-

HSBC staff help tag and measure trees.

the Heart of Borneo

repre-sents the only place

remain-ing in Southeast Asia where

forests, biodiversity and its

ecosystem services can still

be conserved on a very large

scale

“HSBC was the first

cor-poration to support the

ini-tiative back in April 2005

when the Ministry of

Indus-try and Primary Resources,

aided by WWF, hosted an

exploratory international

workshop to look into

op-tions for joint conservation

and sustainable

develop-ment of a forested

land-scape by the three Bornean

countries This led to the

endorsement of the

impor-tance of the Heart of

Bor-neo Initiative at the ASEAN

and BIMP-EAGA Leaders’

Summit in Kuala Lumpur

in December 2005 and the

historic Heart of Borneo

Declaration by the

govern-ments of Brunei, Indonesia

and Malaysia in February

2007,” Dato’ Dr Mikaail

Ka-vanagh, Special Adviser to

Brunei, WWF Heart of

Bor-neo Initiative, said

According to Mr Boon

Teck Lim, HSBC Brunei’s

Manager for Corporate

Sus-tainability, the bank’s

sup-port for the Heart of Borneo

Initiative stems from its

com-mitment to the environment

“Borneo has one of the

rich-est biodiversity in the world,

with many endemic species

Because of its forest cover,

Borneo is also often been

called the ‘third lung’ of the

world Thus, conserving

Borneo’s forest carries local,

regional and global signifi

-cance,” he said

Apart from supporting the

workshop in 2005, HSBC is

also helping the government

of Brunei establish a “Heart

of Borneo Center” which will

oversee the implementation

of Heart of Borneo-related

activities in the country

Signifi cant resources have

been allocated to complete

the center

Climate Change Research

Focusing on climate change, HSBC commit-ted US$330,000 to sup-port research being con-ducted by the Centre of Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Insti-tute “Through the support

of HSBC, the University of Brunei and international re-search partners established

a 25-hectare long-term est research plot in Kuala Belalong The research will provide critical information

for-on the impact of climate change on the forests of Brunei, one of the most bio-diverse forests in the world

The results will provide sential information for forest

es-management, contributing

to crafting of policies that will help preserve the rich biodiversity of Brunei’s for-ests,” Mr Stuart Davies, Di-rector of CTFS, said

Through the research, scientists aim to map, tag, identify and monitor over 160,000 trees “Work on the plot is progressing well

So far, it is estimated that

we have completed 40 cent,” Mr Lim said

per-According to Mr Davies, the bank’s contribution goes beyond fi nancial sponsor-ship “Through an innovative program of employee en-gagement, HSBC staff work-ing as ‘citizen scientists’ have participated in fi eld work to help scientists collect fi eld

data HSBC uses this tunity to educate employees about the relationship among climate change, environmen-tal degradation and biodiver-sity loss.”

oppor-HSBC has a Climate Camp, a two-day offsite program that enables em-ployees to experience sci-entific research first-hand Lectures and excursions help bank employees gain

a better appreciation of the importance of preserv-ing Brunei’s forests The program is organized by HSBC’s Climate Champi-ons – employees who have undergone an intensive two-week training program

on climate change at the Earthwatch Institute

A manager from the Centre of Tropical Forest Science briefs HSBC Climate Camp participants

on collection methodology.

HSBC and Brunei’s Forestry Department partnered for the Green Wave tree planting campaign.

An HSBC staff records details of a leaf

Changes are being made

in the way HSBC Brunei

conducts business In 2009,

the bank implemented a

new energy management

program which reduced its

energy consumption by 22

percent or 280 tons of

car-bon dioxide emission The

bank actively shares its

car-bon footprint management

initiatives to many

compa-nies in Brunei

The bank undertook an

intensive review of its

oper-ations in a bid to reduce its

paper consumption Over

six tons of paper or 640

trees are saved annually

In 2010, it became the first

and only company in Brunei

to use paper certified by the

Forest Stewardship Council

(FSC) While a more costly

option, FSC paper pulps

come from certified

sus-tainable sources where the

interests of biodiversity and

the environment are

pro-tected

HSBC also saw a

42-percent reduction in its fleet

fuel consumption and

car-bon emission when it used

a hybrid car fleet

HSBC Brunei was nized by the ASEAN Cen-tre for Energy as one of the companies with the best energy management prac-tices in Southeast Asia The company was second run-ner up in the 2009 ASEAN Energy Awards

recog-Working with the Government

In partnership with Brunei’s Forestry Department, HSBC supported the Green Wave,

a global tree planting paign that seeks to educate children and youth about the importance of biodiversity In

cam-2010, the company and the Forestry Department orga-nized tree planting activities

in 40 schools nationwide volving over 4,000 students

in-Apart from leading the tree planting activities, HSBC employees also prepared a presentation on the value of biodiversity

Another government program supported by the bank is the Princess Rashi-dah Young Nature Scien-tist Award (PRYNSA), an annual competition that recognizes outstanding

secondary students The competition is a means of boosting students’ compe-tence to become science-based professionals who will eventually lead Brunei in conservation efforts

HSBC also pioneered the Earth Hour Movement in Brunei as part of its efforts

to engage its employees and the general public in con-serving the environment

Sustaining Conservation Efforts

For HSBC Brunei, tainability is key to success-ful conservation programs

sus-Investing in environmental education for employees and the general public and engaging various stake-holders are the tools that HSBC uses to ensure sus-tainability

“At HSBC, we stand the intricate link be-tween the well-being of the environment and the sus-tainability of our business

under-As such, making positive contribution to the devel-opment of the community and environment is a global mandate for HSBC offices

ating areas including HSBC Brunei are required to set aside annual budget to be used for community and environment development projects,” Mr Boon Teck Lim said

He added that the bank has two full-time staff who oversee the implementation

of its Corporate ability Strategy “To ensure senior management com-mitment and oversight, the Manager for Corporate Sus-tainability reports directly to our country CEO and is a member of the senior man-agement team.”

Sustain-HSBC Brunei takes an active role in partnering with key stakeholders Accord-ing to Ms Noralinda Ibra-him, Senior Forestry Officer from Brunei’s Forestry De-partment, a good example

of such working ship is the Forest Dynamic Research Project where scientific expertise comes from CTFS and UBD, while HSBC provides financial support and employee par-ticipation She noted the strong partnership that the bank has formed with the government

relation-More Conservation Projects in the Pipeline

The bank is set to port new initiatives such as the environmental educa-tion field trips for Second-ary School Students and the Blue Flag Beach Cer-tification project by a local non-government organiza-tion It also plans to beef

sup-up existing projects such

as the Green Wave, Climate Camp and Nature Camp

“We are continuing to cus on the environment ed-ucation with the hope that more youth and individual will be inspired to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle,”

fo-Mr Lim said

All these made HSBC Brunei a true ASEAN Cham-pion of Biodiversity

Measuring the distance of trees

HSBC offi cer accepts recognition at the 2009 ASEAN Energy Awards

Green Community

Initiating Little Activities with Extraordinary Impacts

Nominated by: Prof Dr Sudijono Sastroatmojo,

M.Si, Rector, Semarang State University

1st

PLACE

In 2006, a group of Biology

students from Indonesia’s

Semarang State University

(SSU) trooped to Mount

Prau in the

Batang-Wono-sobo District for a day of

mountain climbing Little

did they know that the trip

will be a life-changing

expe-rience

What they expected to

be a lush and green forest

around the mountain turned

out to be a wasteland

ow-ing to massive

deforesta-tion, land clearing and illegal

burning activities by locals

Their close encounter with

the sorry state of what was

once a rich forest served as

an eye-opener They thought

about the impact of this

damaged habitat to the

spe-cies that live in that forest

“What can biology

stu-dents like us do to help

save the environment?”

they asked Shortly after the

trip, they established Green

Community In 2008, it

be-came a formal students’

association By 2009, it

was appointed by SSU to

become a member of the

Campus Conservation

De-velopment Team

“Green Community is a study group which focuses

on the conservation of diversity and wildlife habitat

bio-Our vision is to promote the sustainable management of natural resources and save biodiversity through simple but high-impact activities,”

Mr Dhita Prasisca tari, director of Green Com-munity, said

Mutia-Young People Taking Action

Composed of 50 bers who are between 19 and 26 years old, Green Community seeks to in-volve students in conserva-tion initiatives Members are expected to form a cadre of environmentalists who will spread the word of conser-vation

mem-According to Mr tiatari, all members are stu-dents of SSU’s Department

Mu-conservation at an early age, members of Green Community conduct envi-ronmental education activi-ties among school children

in Semarang City “This tivity is intended for children

ac-to understand their role in protecting the environment including flora and fauna,” Prof Dr Sudijono Sastroat-mojo, M.Si, Rector of SSU, said Field trips and games are employed to ensure that the children will enjoy the learning experience Fa-cilitators from Green Com-munity introduce the kids

to various animals, the portance of gardening, the role of birds and butterflies

im-as pollinators, and the life cycle of plants

The group believes that engaging young people like them is crucial to protect-ing the environment “We try to influence and encour-age other students from the Department of Biology and other departments to volun-teer in our activities Now,

we also receive invitations from various agencies to hold partnership activities Getting people to partner

“Local action is an important step toward having harmony between human and nature While

we realize that this is not a simple thing, we will make it come true

by strengthening our efforts Our dream is for conservation to be a way

of life.”

– Dhita Prasisca Mutiatari,

Director, Green Community

of Biology “Some members who have graduated are still very dedicated to the cause and help in various activi-ties as much as they can,”

he said

Educating Young People

Believing that children should be introduced to

Studying frogs under the Ungaran Conservation Project Planting mangroves

with us is part of our

suc-cess as an organization,”

Lutfian Nazar, a member of

Green Community shared

Among its partners are

NGO People School

PAT-TIRO Kendal, Semarang

City’s Department of Marine

and Fisheries,

Woodpeck-er Bird Community,

Heli-aster Diponegro University,

Semarang Bird Community,

and Kendal District’s Office

of Environment

Conducting Inventory

of Plants and Animals

Using their knowledge

and skills as students of

biology, members of Green

Community periodically

conduct “Flora and Fauna

Inventory” activities in the

SSU campus, nearby

coast-al areas such as Rejo Tugu

Semarang, the Ungaran

Mountain and other servation areas Information gathered is used to develop

con-a dcon-atcon-abcon-ase of plcon-ants con-and animals The students be-lieve that by studying the various species and know-ing their status, organiza-tions and individuals can design effective conserva-tion initiatives The data they have, for example, are taken into consideration in SSU’s development plans

Exploration activities were also conducted in Karimunjawa (2008), Sem-

pu Island (2010) and gan Natural Reserve (2006-2010) to collect data for the biodiversity database

Gebu-From its various ration activities sprang the Ungaran Conservation Project which seeks to empower communities in

explo-to the stakeholders in the City of Semarang so that it can be used as a guide in implementing development activities in Semarang with-out damaging the biodiver-sity found in the area,” Ida Purnomowati of Dinas Ke-lautan Dan Perikanan Kota Semarang said

Empowering Locals

According to Prof Dr Sastroatmojo, one of Green Community’s noteworthy activities is its partnership with the locals of Banyu-windu Limbangan Village in the Kendal District The stu-dents visit the village regu-larly to provide guidance

to the locals on developing Limbangan as a tourism conservation village

Training activities on simple but useful conser-

the mountainous area by teaching them how to sus-tainably manage biological resources

In these exploration tivities, Green Community sighted the endemic frog Philautus jacobsoni which was last seen in 1912 For this achievement, Green Community was recognized

ac-by the Amphibian Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Project partners laud the organization’s data col-lection efforts “When we worked with Green Com-munity at Kelompok Kerja Mangrove Kota Semarang (KKMKS), they helped in identifying the various bio-diversity resources found

in the area The data they collected were submitted

Lectures are conducted by Green Community members Coastal clean-up

Green Community members take school children to a fi eld trip to Isriati.

vation methods such as

using various wastes as

fertilizer are conducted

Lectures on the

impor-tance of conserving the

village’s natural resources

are well-received by the

locals who are keen on

at-tracting tourists to

gener-ate income

To inspire their fellow

youth to contribute their

share in protecting the

en-vironment, the biology

stu-dents also teach the young

villagers how to collect data

on species found in

Lim-bangan

Protecting Coastal

Ecosystems

Witnessing the severe

damage to the coastal

areas in nearby Kendal,

Green Community

mem-bers decided to involve

themselves in the

manage-ment of coastal ecosystems

in areas near the university

This initiative uses a pronged approach which includes conducting re-search, promoting commu-nity awareness and planting mangroves

three-The biology majors study the socio-economic condi-tions of communities living

in the coastal areas and how their activities affect the coastal ecosystems in those places Regular edu-cational activities are also held to inform the locals about the extent of dam-age suffered by the bodies

of water near their munities and the species they contain After this, the student lecturers highlight the many services offered

com-by coastal ecosystems to communities such as food and livelihood in hopes of

inspiring locals to protect their “source of life.”

Another key activity under this project is the planting of mangroves with

a number of partners such

as the Go Green Movement and the PRENJAK Youth Group Young people are encouraged to participate

in mangrove reforestation activities Prior to planting, participants are educated about the role played by mangroves in ensuring the integrity of coastal re-sources Green Commu-nity members highlight the fact that mangroves provide nursery grounds for fish, prawns and crabs, and support fisheries pro-duction in coastal waters

They also protect coastal areas from storm surges, waves, tidal currents and typhoons

Little Activities, Big Contributions

For Prof Dr mojo, Green Community’s success lies in its ability

Sastroat-to transform little activities into extraordinary feats by involving various stakehold-ers such as the local com-munities, fellow students, and non-government orga-nizations He added that by sharing the results of their exploration activities to communities, the organiza-tion is able to bring scientif-

ic information to a broader audience

These successes have not gone unnoticed Unlike fi ve years ago when Green Com-munity got its funds from collecting and selling paper, plastic bottles and other wastes, the organization now receives funding from SSU In

2011, it also received funds from the Directorate General

of Higher Education A ber of its members have also participated in study visits and internships at BirdLife Indonesia, Wildlife Conser-vation Society and Kutilang Foundation

num-With its simple but impact activities, Green Community is championing biodiversity among com-munities in Semarang For its members, being young does not hinder them to become ASEAN Champi-ons of Biodiversity

high-Born to be Wild

Championing Biodiversity through Television

Nominated by: Dr Theresa Mundita Lim, Director, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau,

Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines

1st

PLACE

Every Wednesday night,

millions of Filipinos tune

in to GMA-7, one of the

Phil-ippines’ largest television

networks, as they eagerly

watch Born to be Wild, a

TV show that features

biodi-versity The weekly program

showcases various species

and environments found in

the Philippines and other

countries in Southeast Asia

In one episode,

pro-gram host Dr Ferds

Re-cio finds himself in Ho Chi

Minh City, Viet Nam, where

the sounds of anguished

bears are muffled behind

the urban noise Asiatic

black bears are captured

and trapped in suffocating

cages for their bile which is

believed to have medicinal

value An estimated 3,000

bears live in these horrible

conditions in different bear

farms across Viet Nam

Be-cause of the trauma from

bile extraction, some bears

already manifest signs of

in-sanity, banging their heads

against cages and biting off

their body parts Doc Ferds participates in a mission

to rescue bears in ity, and helps to rehabilitate these animals

captiv-After watching this episode, blogger Tobbie Cadhit posted this insight

on his blog, “Last night, I wondered what will hap-pen if the bears were the predators and us humans were the prey Everyday, the bears would try to catch one of us and put us

in small cages During bile harvesting, we will be shot with tranquilizers and pulled like rugs onto the floor

They’ll remove our clothing and with the help of an ul-trasound, locate where our gall bladder is Then for an hour or so they will extract our bile Once the process

is finished, they will leave

us to salivate, tremble and wail in anguish Interest-

ing picture and we’ll say it

is barbaric and able But why do people do

unaccept-it to animals? Because we feel we own this world and have dominion above all creatures? Last night I felt ashamed of being human for such cruelty and inhu-manity to animals.”

To awaken viewers to the harsh realities of human actions against biodiversity

is one of the reasons why GMA-7 launched Born to

be Wild in 2007

“Born to be Wild is GMA Network’s response to the growing clamor for envi-ronmental awareness En-vironmental documentaries like Al Gore’s An Inconve-nient Truth became relevant

at the time That is why in

2007, a show dedicated entirely to the environment, wildlife and biodiversity was created by GMA’s News and Public Affairs division,”

Ms Angeli Atienza, gram manager of Born to

pro-be Wild, said

Showcasing Philippine Biodiversity

“Television is known to

be one of the most erful mass media used to disseminate information However, even if television has a wide range of audi-ence, not much topics on the environment has been aired Thanks to GMA-7,

pow-we now have Born to be

Wild, a pioneer television

program that has been fluential in promoting bio-diversity conservation,”

in-Dr Theresa Mundita Lim, Director of the Philippines’ Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resourc-

es – Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said She underscored that through the weekly program, peo-ple are now more aware of the current state of the en-vironment

The Story behind the Stories

Stories for the show are selected based on rel-

Born to be Wild’s hosts take viewers on various adventures every week.

appeal to mass audience

“We want our topics to be

informative but also

engag-ing In terms of relevance,

we also produce specials

on hot topics related to

the environment For

ex-ample, we’ve aired stories

on the predicted

deple-tion of marine resources,

drought, climate change

and other current issues

On the wildlife front, we

al-ways make sure we are the

first to share news of

new-ly discovered species and

other information that

pro-mote pride in the country’s

biodiversity,” Ms Atienza

shared

Producing the show

involves a long and

me-ticulous process – from

re-searching topics,

confirm-ing data, gatherconfirm-ing expert

opinions, and the

experi-ences and stories of local

residents and organizations

at the grassroots level

Ac-cording to Ms Atienza, “It

takes a lot of time for us to

approve a topic There are

many considerations – Is it

relevant? Is it feasible? Is

this the right season to do

this? What is the

conserva-tion message?”

When a story finally gets

the green light, an even

more meticulous process

follows “What our viewers

see is the final product – the

beautiful places, the wildlife

moments But behind the

scenes, nature and wildlife

filmmaking can be really

tough You are always at

the mercy of the elements

and you can never tell your

subject to show up at the

time you prefer You always

have to be patient; waiting

is part of the work But in

the process, we also learn a

lot After a while, it’s

amaz-ing how our teams almost

have a sixth sense for

na-ture They kind of acquire

an understanding of how

nature works after years

of being in the field,” Ms

Atienza said

Scientists and the Public

To ensure accuracy of information presented in the show, the program re-searchers seek the exper-tise of scientists According

to Born to be Wild Executive Producer Richelle Figureoa,

“Before airing a story, we see to it that the facts and information presented are double checked Through the help of experts like her-petologist Arvin Diesmos or ornithologist Aldrin Mallari, for example, we are able to identify species which are unfamiliar to us We also confirm with experts about the behavior of a particu-lar species We are fortu-nate and glad that experts are very willing to help and share their expertise to the program for the benefit of the public.”

The show is often lauded for bridging the gap be-tween scientists and the general public “The pro-gram is a breakthrough for Philippine conservation It helps research and conser-vation groups translate our advocacy to Filipino public – volunteerism, conser-vation and environmental education The show be-comes a bridge that helps deliver science-based research to the commu-nity,” Ms Cynthia Adeline Layusa, program manager

of Isla Biodiversity vation, Inc., said The Born

Conser-to be Wild team and Ms

Layusa worked together at the 2010 Humpback Whale Research and Conservation Project in the Philippines’

Babuyan Group of Islands

Offering Solutions

Apart from presenting a story, Born to be Wild raises possible solutions to bio-diversity-related problems

Ideas are often based on what researchers, scientists, experts and non-government organizations have studied

According to Ms Atienza, “In

Examining a rescued python

Meeting a whale shark A baby sea turtle

Teaching school kids about biodiversity conservation