Top UN Biodiversity Official to Visit Philippines

Laguna, Philippines — Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will visit the Philippines from May 28 to June 1 to launch the UN Decade on Biodiversity for Southeast Asia and grace the awarding ceremonies of the first ASEAN Champions of Biodiversity Awards.

 

Executive Director Rodrigo Fuentes of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and Philippines Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, who are hosting the UN official's visit in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the country was chosen as launching site for Southeast Asia of the UN Decade due to its prominent position in the biodiversity arena.

 

"The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations and an active party to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and we are happy to be chosen as host country for this launch," Secretary Paje said.

 

"The Philippines is one of the world's 17 mega diverse countries while Southeast Asia, occupying only three percent of the earth's surface, boasts of globally significant terrestrial and marine biodiversity that include an astonishing 18 percent of all species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is but fitting that Southeast Asia and the Philippines play a major role in global conservation efforts and celebrations," Director Fuentes said.

 

To be led by President Benigno S. Aquino III and Dr. Djoghlaf, the launch of the UN Decade on Biodiversity will be held in Malacañang on May 30 and will be witnessed by the diplomatic corps from the ASEAN member countries; high level government officials; and representatives of media, conservation organizations and business community. The event will be highlighted by a Presidential Proclamation declaring 2011-2020 as National Decade on Biodiversity and the century-old balete tree in Malacanang as a Heritage Tree.

 

The Malacañang event will be followed by a meeting between Dr. Djoghlaf and conservation organizations where he is expected to encourage them to be active partners in implementing the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

 

On May 31, Dr. Djoghlaf will address the awarding ceremonies of the ASEAN Champions of Biodiversity, where the ACB will recognize companies, media and youth organizations who are implementing outstanding initiatives on biodiversity conservation and advocacy in Southeast Asia. This will be the first time that such awards will be given. The Champions is being supported by the European Union, ASEAN Foundation, the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Solidarity Fund, UNESCO, GIZ of Germany and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

 

Dr. Djoghlaf's final activity will be an interaction with the Philippines' business community where he is expected to challenge the business sector to take an active role in conservation, considering the fact that businesses depend on biodiversity for their raw materials.

 

The launching ceremony in Malacañang will take place following the successful launch of the UN Decade on Biodiversity for Asia and the Pacific held in New Delhi, India on May 23, as well as the national launch by the Republic of Korea held in Sangjo on May 20. Regional launches for the UN Decade on Biodiversity are planned throughout the coming months. The Caribbean launch will take place in Havana, Cuba on 4 July, to be followed on 22 July by the regional launch for Africa in Addis Ababa.

 

Media contact: Rolando A. Inciong, Head, Communication and Public Affairs, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, E-mail: rainciong@aseanbiodiversity.org, Tel. No. +63 917 867 5351