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ASEAN COMMENDS IUCN FOR ITS EFFORTS TO SAFEGUARD BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
July 13, 2004
The IUCN Reginal Biodiversity Programme – Asia was established in 1996 to help implement the Convention on Biological Diversity in Asia. Since then the Programme has been actively supporting activities in about 14 countries in Asia with a range of partners and members. In recognition of these services, the 14th Annual Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Nature Conservation and Biodiversity (AWGNCB) expressed its appreciation to IUCN for the Union ‘s activities in the Southeast Asian region. The meeting highlighted in particular activities related to biosafety; access to biological and genetic resources and benefit-sharing thereof as well as the Global Biodiversity Forum for Southeast Asia . The participants agreed to further collaboration and explore potential partnerships with the IUCN Regional Biodiversity Programme in Asia . The AWGNCB is the highest body in ASEAN focusing on conservation of biodiversity, reporting to the Ministers of Environment in the Association’s mem ber countries.
Biotechnology and Development in Asia
Is biotechnology relevant to development? Will the adoption of biotechnology 2000 enhance rural livelihoods in Asia ? Are there possibilities for regional cooperation to harness the technology for development in Asia ? These are some of the questions that were raised and answered at the “Second Asian Conference on Biotechnology and Development: Regional cooperation for Access and Capacity Building” organised by Research and Information Systems for the Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries in association with IUCN-Regional Biodiversity Programme, Asia, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and supported by UNESCO and Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
More than 70 participants from Asia and other parts of the world discussed issues of relevance of biotechnology to food security, IPRs, furthering implementation of Cartagena Protocol, options for public-private sector partnerships besides identifying options for regional cooperation.
One of the outcomes of the conference is the agreement on establishment of a ‘Regional Cooperation Network on Biotechnology and Development’ to be led by IUCN-Regional Biodiversity Programme-Asia and RIS.
Programme (PDF) Key Outcomes (PDF)
For further details: www.biodiversityasia.org
www.ris.org.in
IUCN AND UNDP LAUNCH JOINT PUBLICATION ON BIODIVERSITY AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
How can biodiversity help eradicate poverty, reduce child mortality and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases? Some answers to these questions may well be found in the joint IUCN-UNDP publication Biodiversity and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released yesterday at the 7th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. IUCN Director General Achim Steiner, together with Alvaro Umana of UNDP, released the first copies of the book to community representatives at the CBD. “The publication marks an important milestone in our understanding of the need to mainstream biodiversity into the MDGs and the contribution that biodiversity makes to poverty reduction,” said Balakrisna Pisupati, Head of the IUCN’s Asia Regional Biodiversity Programme, who co-authored the publication with the Emilie Warner of the IUCN Regional Programme for Asia. “It also reflects the need to create synergies between conservation and development at all levels,” added Pisupati. For more details and a copy of the publication: