Germany and ASEAN Boost Cooperation on Biodiversity Conservation

Germany and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) raised the bar on their cooperation on biodiversity conservation when Mr. Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, German Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), visited the headquarters of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) at the foot of Mt. Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
In his message, Secretary Fuchtel praised the ASEAN and ACB for their work in conserving the region’s biodiversity. He emphasized that his mission was to familiarize himself with German-funded initiatives and how German taxpayers are being invested in protecting the environment. "This will contribute to the understanding by the German people of the ASEAN-Germany cooperation process so that we can further strengthen our ties with this region," Mr. Fuchtel said.
The German State Secretary’s delegation included Mr. Michael Hasper, Chargé d'Affaires of the German Embassy in Manila; Mr. Hubertus Graf von Plettenberg, Head of Corporate Management of the Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG); Ms. Anna de Guzman from the Economic Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid and Ms. Caroline Sperling from the Economic Cooperation Division, German Embassy; Ms. Olga Caday-Asana from GIZ Philippines; Mr. Benjamin Hecker, Private Secretary of the State Secretary; and Ms. Anja Niemann, the English translator of the State Secretary.
The high-level German official was briefed by Atty. Roberto Oliva, ACB Executive Director, who explained his organization’s mandate in promoting cooperation on biodiversity conservation and sustainable management among the ten ASEAN Member States and international partners, including Germany. Joining Mr. Oliva in welcoming the German visitors were other ACB officials: Dr. Sheila Vergara, director, Biodiversity Information Management; Rolando Inciong, director, Communication and Public Affairs; Lauro Punzalan, protocol officer; Dr. Filiberto Pollisco, Jr., policy research specialist; and Norman Ramirez, programme officer. The meeting was also attended by consultants with German-funded ACB initiatives: Dr. Berthold Seibert and Dr. Dicky Simorangkir of the ACB-GIZ Biodiversity and Climate Change Project and Mr. Gunther Meyer of the ACB-KfW Small Grants Programme.
After the meeting and despite the rains over Mt. Makiling, one of the 33 ASEAN Heritage Parks, Mr. Fuchtel and his party planted trees at the Makiling Botanic Gardens. "Biodiversity is a vital global issue for the future so I make it a point to plant a tree whenever I travel to different countries. It is my official and personal advocacy," Mr. Fuchtel said after the tree planting with officials from the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems led by Dr. Nel Bantayan and Dr. Manny Castillo.
A major ASEAN-Germany cooperation initiative on the environment is the Biodiversity and Climate Change Project being implemented by ACB and funded by GIZ. The project is strengthening the capacity of ACB and the ASEAN Member States in mitigating climate change through biodiversity conservation. This year, ACB is launching a four-year Small Grants Programme funded by KfW (German Development Bank). To be implemented initially in Indonesia and Myanmar, the programme aims to contribute to biodiversity protection and management and improvement of livelihood of people in the ASEAN Heritage Parks areas. Another German-funded initiative that will soon be launched by ACB is the project on Biodiversity-based Products as an Economic Source for the Improvement of Livelihoods and Biodiversity Protection.
Visit the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity website at http://www.aseanbiodiversity.org/ for more information.