Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh—International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) are strengthening ties to support Asean countries in achieving their biodiversity targets through a new memorandum of understanding.
IUCN and ACB, both regarded as international centers of excellence for biodiversity conservation, are building on mutually shared objectives in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. This is particularly in the context of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs).
As a partner, ACB joins the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of the Mangroves for the Future Initiative (MFF), a partnership-based regional initiative cochaired by IUCN and United Nations Development Programme, which promotes investment in coastal ecosystem conservation for sustainable development. MFF focuses on the role that healthy, well-managed coastal ecosystems play in building the resilience of ecosystem-dependent coastal communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
As a member of the MFF RSC, ACB shall work with Asean member-states, particularly those that are MFF members to ensure that Asean’s principles are reflected in MFF’s programs.
The partnership also calls for IUCN and ACB to identify and implement collaborative projects and activities. Potential areas for collaboration include: protected-areas management, particularly in relation to the Asia Protected Areas Partnership, the Asean Heritage Parks Program and transboundary protected areas.
Both organizations also share an interest in strengthening the capacity of Asean member-states on access and benefit-sharing measures, including the Nagoya Protocol. In addition, IUCN and ACB will seek to develop synergies through the exchange of best practices and information related to regranting mechanisms, species conservation and the illegal wildlife trade.
To achieve these aims, both organizations will collaborate on fund-raising to support new biodiversity-conservation initiatives in the Asean region. ACB was welcomed as MFF’s newest institutional partner at the 13th meeting of the MFF RSC at Sayeman Beach Resort in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on October 25.