Today, we mark the 16th founding anniversary of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). The 10 ASEAN Member States established the ACB 16 years ago in recognition of the need for an intergovernmental body that will facilitate stronger cooperation among the member states on conserving and protecting the region's rich biodiversity.
Over the past year, we faced seemingly insurmountable challenges: the more transmissible COVID-19 variants have tested many countries in the ASEAN, caused surges anew, and took a toll on lives and livelihood in a region that is raring to recover.
Another global concern that we cannot afford to treat blithely is climate change. In its most recent report, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change concluded that the planet is already 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer and is likely to cross the 1.5-degree boundary within two decades. With the worsening climate, the region experienced more destructive and deadly weather events in the past year. These unprecedented times have disrupted us, called for a rethinking of business as usual, and compelled us to work collectively to transform systems and institutions.
On the flip side, we have also seen some notable successes. The discovery and development of new vaccines against the COVID-19 gave us slivers of hope. More so, we have seen increased recognition of the value of biodiversity and nature in our healing and recovery. The pandemic has allowed us to reexamine our relationship with biodiversity and nature, with which the ASEAN is richly bestowed, and come up with action plans and programmes that address the region's immediate needs and long-term recovery.
The adoption of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework of the ASEAN leaders last year was a welcome development. The challenge now rests on operationalising this framework and aligning the ASEAN Member States' existing and future work and programmes to integrate the complex relationships among human health, animal health, and environmental health.
This year, the number of ASEAN Heritage Parks, or protected areas recognised for their high conservation value, has grown to 50 with the addition of Thailand's Khao Sok National Park. In collaboration with our partners, the European Union, the German development agency GIZ, and Germany's KfW Development Bank, our assistance to the management of designated AHPs through integrated management planning, livelihood opportunities, and law enforcement have contributed to the ASEAN Member States' efforts towards achieving their targets, both in quantity and quality.
We pushed through with major regional events online, including the closing event of the Third ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity and webinars on various thematic agenda. Similarly, last month's launch of the ASEAN Green Initiative, or the AGI, rallies the support of communities, government and non-government institutions, and the private sector in planting and growing 10 million native trees across the 10 ASEAN Member States in 10 years. The AGI is a demonstration of the region's commitment to global ecosystem restoration.
We also launched this year #WeAreASEANBiodiversity Our Home. Our Lives. Our Stories––a region-wide campaign that amplifies the call for everyone's meaningful participation to save biodiversity. Under this call, the ACB has partnered with media personalities and ASEAN citizens, each doing their part for ASEAN biodiversity and paying it forward for people and nature.
As the regional hub for biodiversity, the ACB has been forging links and strengthening partnerships with various networks at the national and regional levels to scale up biodiversity mainstreaming efforts. In just a few years after moving to our new office, our premises have already been identified as a popular place to visit in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. In the past months, we welcomed dignitaries from France, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the United States of America, who expressed interest in exploring areas of cooperation with the ACB.
Our work in supporting science-based decision-making processes in the region, on the other hand, does not stop. With the operationalisation of the ASEAN Biodiversity Dashboard, a project of the ACB in collaboration with NatureServe, the ACB's role as a knowledge institution will intensify, benefitting policymakers and the public as they are able to better visualise the status of biodiversity conservation in the region through its tailored visualisation platform. Our aim is that the ASEAN Biodiversity Dashboard and the ASEAN Clearing House Mechanism will strengthen the monitoring indicators and improvement of informed decision-making in the region.
The challenges of the changing climate and the emergence of new diseases compel us to boost our collaboration across sectors and reset our thinking on the value of nature and its contribution to our health and well-being. In our 16th year, we continue to share information and facilitate the exchange of knowledge across previously set boundaries. And, we know we are not alone we all can do this together because we are all part of the solution, #WeAreASEANBiodiversity.
Happy 16th anniversary, ACB!
Message from ACB Executive Director Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim
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