SE Asia in danger of losing biodiversity

September 30, 2008 21:48:00

Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

LOS BANOS, Laguna—Southeast Asia holds more diverse flora and fauna than Europe, but it is in
danger of losing its biodiversity, Ambassador of the European Commission to the Philippines Alistair
MacDonald said Tuesday.

"Southeast Asia (has) natural habitats of up to 40 percent of all species existing on the planet. The
range of ASEAN biodiversity is astonishing,” said MacDonald during the Ambassadors' Day at the
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) here.

“A single small tropical-forest patch anywhere in this region, covering just a couple of hundred
hectares, might support more bird and mammal species than there are in the whole of the
Netherlands, Belgium and Germany combined," said the ambassador, a self-avowed birdwatcher.

MacDonald said the region's continued biodiversity loss is due to extensive deforestation and
habitat loss, widespread conversion of land for agriculture or urban and industrial development, and
the continuing rapid population growth.

"The flora and fauna of the region are increasingly under threat. Annually, ASEAN loses one
percent of its forest cover, a figure four times higher than the world average. There are more than
150 endangered species in the Philippines alone," he said.

The establishment of the ACB, which is tasked to facilitate coordination and capacity building on
policy, strategy, and action concerning biodiversity in the region, was helped in large part by a four-
year grant worth Є6 million (about P400 million) from the
European Union in 2005.

And while MacDonald praised the center for its achievements in the region, he is worried about its
sustainability after the EU assistance is used by at the end of 2009.

He said the Establishment Agreement of the ACB has not yet come into force because only three
countries, instead of the minimum six, have so far ratified it -- Brunei, Philippines, and Vietnam.

"Without ratification, the legal existence of the ACB as an organization remains in question. And
without ratification, it seems to be difficult for some countries to make their necessary financial
contributions to the work of ACB," he said.

MacDonald said that except for the Philippines, the other ASEAN countries have not stepped up to
the plate and have not covered the Є1.3 million that ASEAN committed to put into the center when
EU did.

"The EC's financing agreement with ASEAN foresees a total budget of Є7.3 million over the four
years of our support -- Є6 million from the EC budget, Є1.3 million which ASEAN countries agreed
to provide. And with one outstanding exception, the ASEAN member countries have as yet done
very little to live up to this commitment," he said.

"The exception is of course the Philippines, which has made substantial contributions to the ACB,
fully in line with their commitments, and for which I would like to express my thanks to
(Environment) Secretary (Lito) Atienza and his colleagues," he added.

He said that without the completion of the ratification of the Establishment Agreement, which would
ensure funding for the center, the ACB's sustainability in the medium and long term is not assured.
MacDonald said ASEAN's positive action to ensure the sustainability of ACB would be duly noted by
EU.

"I might add that the willingness of ASEAN member-countries to fully support the work of an agreed
ASEAN institution…will also be a gauge of ASEAN's willingness to help itself, and one which will be
noted by ASEAN's dialogue partners," he said.

MacDonald thus urged the 10 ASEAN member-countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- to work for the speedy
ratification of the Establishment Agreement and to ensure that the necessary financial resources
are made available.

To his colleagues in the EU, the ambassador also appealed to continue their support for biodiversity
in Southeast Asia.

"Encourage your governments and your universities to build up an enhanced cooperation with the
ACB -- perhaps through research cooperation, perhaps through study visits or exchanges, or in
whatever other fashion may be most appropriate," he said.

"If the rich biodiversity of ASEAN continues to diminish at current rates, the world will be a much
greyer place -- and if the world's biodiversity is at threat, the world risks to become a dead place,"
he said.

Copyright 2008 INQUIRER.net and content partners. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.