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SE Asia in danger of losing biodiversitySeptember 30, 2008 21:48:00Veronica UyINQUIRER.net

LOS BANOS, LagunaSoutheast Asia holds more diverse flora and fauna than Europe, but it is indanger 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. Therange of ASEAN biodiversity is astonishing, said MacDonald during the Ambassadors' Day at theASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) here.

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

MacDonald said the region's continued biodiversity loss is due to extensive deforestation andhabitat 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 onepercent of its forest cover, a figure four times higher than the world average. There are more than150 endangered species in the Philippines alone," he said.

The establishment of the ACB, which is tasked to facilitate coordination and capacity building onpolicy, strategy, and action concerning biodiversity in the region, was helped in large part by a four-year grant worth 6 million (about P400 million) from theEuropean Union in 2005.

And while MacDonald praised the center for its achievements in the region, he is worried about itssustainability 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 threecountries, 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. Andwithout ratification, it seems to be difficult for some countries to make their necessary financialcontributions to the work of ACB," he said.

MacDonald said that except for the Philippines, the other ASEAN countries have not stepped up tothe plate and have not covered the 1.3 million that ASEAN committed to put into the center whenEU did.

"The EC's financing agreement with ASEAN foresees a total budget of 7.3 million over the four years of our support -- 6 million from the EC budget, 1.3 million which ASEAN countries agreedto provide. And with one outstanding exception, the ASEAN member countries have as yet donevery 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 wouldensure funding for the center, the ACB's sustainability in the medium and long term is not assured.

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MacDonald said ASEAN's positive action to ensure the sustainability of ACB would be duly noted byEU.

"I might add that the willingness of ASEAN member-countries to fully support the work of an agreedASEAN institutionwill also be a gauge of ASEAN's willingness to help itself, and one which will benoted 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 speedyratification of the Establishment Agreement and to ensure that the necessary financial resourcesare made available.

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

"Encourage your governments and your universities to build up an enhanced cooperation with theACB -- perhaps through research cooperation, perhaps through study visits or exchanges, or inwhatever 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 muchgreyer place -- and if the world's biodiversity is at threat, the world risks to become a dead place,"he said.

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