LAGUNA, July 4 -- The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) of Malaysia and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) will hold the final session of the Third ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity on 5 July 2021 with focus on the future of biodiversity conservation in the region.

In view of the finalisation of the landmark post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF), the ASEAN Member States are set to chart transformative actions that will affect the needed change to conserve biodiversity and attain sustainable development in ASEAN.

The virtual event will gather hundreds of participants across the region ahead of the third meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on the post-2020 GBF, in August 2021. Following a series of negotiations among parties, the 30-year strategic plan for biodiversity is expected to be finalised at the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the CBD (COP 15) in Kunming, China, in October 2021.

With the theme "Towards 2050: Living in Harmony with Nature," the conference was originally scheduled to convene in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 16 to 19 March 2020, but was postponed and restructured due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

From September to December 2020, four sub-conferences on themes, such as the post-2020 GBF, mainstreaming biodiversity, transformative change and innovations, and business and biodiversity were held online.

ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim said the outcomes of the redesigned conference will contribute to the efforts of the ASEAN to build common grounds for the development and implementation of the post-2020 GBF.

"We are living in extraordinary times, with the heavy impacts of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the threats of new and deadlier ones. These require stronger regional cooperation among countries to better carry out common goals of protecting biodiversity and promoting nature-based solutions," Lim said.

Lim stressed that while the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed timelines and caused setbacks on the development of the post-2020 framework, it continues to be regarded as a critical strategic plan that will define medium- and long-term efforts in biodiversity across the world.

She expressed hope that the agreements to be made at the global level will complement the implementation of the recently adopted ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and the commitment of the ASEAN leaders to promote biodiversity conservation and "endeavour to mainstream biodiversity into the various development processes in the region," as expressed in the ASEAN Leaders' Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability in 2019.                  

The minister of KeTSA, Datuk Seri Dr. Shamsul Anuar bin Hj Nasarah, highlighted that the organizing of ACB 2020 is of great significance for Malaysia and ASEAN as it demonstrates the country's and region's commitment in enhancing biodiversity conservation efforts.

To be hosted by singer and actress Maya Karin and moderated by Mr. Abdul Wahid Bin Abu Salim, deputy secretary-general of KeTSA, the final session is bringing together esteemed experts and officials from the region and across the world.

The co-chairs of the OEWG on the post-2020 GBF were invited to talk about ways to adapt the framework to a better normal. The discussion will be followed by a keynote message of Hesiquio Benitez Diaz, current chair of Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) on the recent SBSTTA discussions.

ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community H.E. Kung Phoak will talk about the region's efforts towards post-pandemic recovery.

Other resource persons in the panel are Prof. Emerita Dato' Seri Dr. Mazlan Othman, Director International Science Council- Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and Marcia Tambutti, a biodiversity expert of the Agricultural Development Unit under the Natural Resources Division of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Pre-recorded high-level statements from the ASEAN Member States will also be shown in the half-day programme, which will be held on Zoom and livestreamed on ACB's Facebook page. 

The conference is supported by the European Union through the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas in ASEAN (BCAMP) project, the Federal Government of Germany through KfW and GIZ, and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

To register, visit https://bit.ly/ACB2020ClosingEvent. (ACB)

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