ACB chief shares ASEAN’s ‘ripples, waves’ in marine conservation efforts

Screengrab from the IUCN-WCEL Webinar “Are Multilateral Environmental Agreements effective for ocean conservation in the Asia-Pacific Region?” (ACB photo)

CALOOCAN CITY, Aug. 21 (PIA) -- The Assocaition of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States have made considerable progress in integrating marine issues in the Region’s biodiversity conservation plans and initiatives, this, according to the head of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).

“The ASEAN Member States, especially those that have coastal areas, have incorporated marine conservation efforts into their national biodiversity strategies and action plans,” ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim told the PIA-NCR on Thursday.

Lim has shared the effectiveness of marine conservation under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at a recent webinar organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) via Zoom.

The webinar entitled “Are Multilateral Environmental Agreements effective for ocean conservation in the Asia-Pacific Region?” brought together a distinguished panel of marine law and conservation experts, such as Lim, Dr. Transform Aqorau, designated Solomon Islands Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Clement Yow Mulalap, legal advisor of the Federated States of Micronesia to the United States.

ASEAN examples

“There are good examples of how some countries in the ASEAN are making a lot of progress in the implementation of the CBD targets. National policies have been mobilised to support fisheries enhancement projects, gear and seasonal catch controls, conservation partnerships, and integrated land and sea use plans,” Lim said.

Lim also shared that the ongoing community fisheries reforms in Cambodia received international attention both regionally and globally.

Experts from Cambodia and Lao PDR are also currently working together on effectively managing fish stocks in transboundary waters: aiming for a 10 per cent increase in fish abundance in the Mekong and Sekong Rivers by 2021, reducing illegal fishing activities in the transboundary conservation pool by 50 per cent, and eliminating the use of illegal fishing gear by 80 per cent. 

Malaysia enhanced its conservation efforts by implementing an Ecosystem Approach for Fisheries Management that entails the monitoring and rehabilitation of coral cover and coastal mangroves.

Meanwhile, Myanmar strengthened its initiatives in aquaculture through improved enforcement, reduced fishing season length, the establishment of three locally-managed marine areas, and registration of vessels.  These efforts, according to Myanmar’s Sixth National Report (6NR), have reduced the harvest of wild marine biodiversity.

Viet Nam, on the other hand, developed and promulgated several policies aimed towards aquatic biodiversity conservation. The Law on Fisheries, being among these breakthrough policies, led to the establishment of 10 additional marine protected areas.

But despite efforts at the national levels, the ASEAN region continues to experience habitat change, overexploitation, illegal wildlife trade, and other scenarios that drive biodiversity loss.

Lim said part of the ACB’s work is to facilitate the scaling up of the implementation of the marine targets of the CBD within the ASEAN region.

“The ASEAN, through ACB, has been working to address some of the gaps in the CBD’s programme of work on marine and coastal biodiversity through the banner initiative, the ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) Programme,” noting an increase in the nomination of marine ASEAN Heritage Parks in recent years.

AHPs are natural parks and nature reserves recognised for their outstanding wilderness and biodiversity values. To date, there are 49 AHPs, nine of which are marine parks.

Covering 180 million square kilometres, the Pacific makes up around half of the earth’s water surface and a third of the total surface area of the world. It hosts a third of the world’s coastal and marine habitats, including the Coral Triangle, which contains more than 700 or almost 30 per cent of the global total coral species.

Reforms and synergies

The Pacific region derives significant economic, social, and cultural benefits from the oceans apart from tourism and transport, said one of the moderators of the webinar, lawyer Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio, Philippine Earth Justice Center Inc. co-founder and managing trustee, and a WCEL steering committee member, said.

She noted that sustainable fishing accounts for 1.5 per cent of the gross domestic product of the Small Island Developing States on average, which is about 10 times the global average.

Osorio said that while there are existing conventions and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to support marine conservation, initiatives are beset by “institutional fragmentation” and coordination challenges.

Aqorao, in his talk, supported the call for reform in the implementation measures of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

He proposed to increase the involvement of stakeholders and non-government actors in the implementation of UNCLOS, instead of being state-centric.

“What we do on land, including the increasing marine pollution debris, has impacts on our oceans and the health of the fish stocks, as well. We cannot address these issues in silos,” Aqorao said.

Lim supported Aqorao’s recommendations, saying the ripples in marine conservation efforts could generate more significant waves if synergy among international conventions and agreements like the CBD, the UNCLOS, the International Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is ensured.

The ACB chief likewise highlighted the importance of achieving targets on financing and resource mobilization in order to fully accomplish the vision to maintain rich and productive coastal and marine ecosystems.

Meanwhile, Mulalap talked about how the Pacific islands can enhance conservation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) process and eventually mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Among the measures that Mulalap mentioned are blue carbon initiatives, carbon capture of whales, reduction of deep-water fishing, and other climate-smart solutions. (PIA NCR)

source https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1050932