IUCN State Members Come Together to Meet Aichi Targets

 

Incheon, RO Korea — In anticipation of the 11th Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), IUCN state members Bangladesh, India, Japan and RO Korea showcased national efforts in meeting the Aichi Targets of the CBD Strategic Plan at the 5th Asia RCF in Incheon. The plenary session saw IUCN members sharing an interactive learning space through which examples of policy interventions and countrywide initiatives to protect critical ecosystems were disseminated and discussed.

 

Recognizing the diversity of the region, Mr Hyun-Jong Kim, Vice President of the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, said that conservation models should be tailored to the individual characteristics of each country. Political and economic climates, he stressed, can also affect the practicality and effectiveness of governance actions, and are to be taken into account in the planning process.

 

However, conservation efforts in Asia are underlain by the need to enhance capacity, said IUCN Councilor Professor Ma Keping. “Biodiversity issues cannot be solved by one country alone; it can only be tackled when we work together,” he reasoned.

 

Echoing Professor Ma’s call for regional cooperation, Dr Chong-Chun Kim, the Secretary General of the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2012 World Conservation Congress, suggested that as the host of RCF and the Congress, Republic of Korea could play an intermediary role between developed and developing countries in demonstrating green growth.