International Conference to Zero in on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Southeast Asia

Manila, Philippines, February 10, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Biodiversity in Southeast Asia is one of the world’s richest. At present, there are around four identified major biodiversity hotspots in the region. With the impacts and threats posed by climate change, Southeast Asia's resources today are in greater peril. The link between biodiversity and climate change is not one-way: just as climate change alters the state of biodiversity, so can changes in biodiversity affect the world’s climate. These are among the many issues in biodiversity and climate change that will be discussed in an international conference-workshop in Manila, Philippines on 19-20 February, 2008.

The two-day conference-workshop will be the culminating activity of the Philippine-Netherlands Biodiversity Research Programme (BRP) for Development in Mindanao: Focus on Mt. Malindang and its Environs implemented by SEARCA and funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Development Cooperation (DGIS) since July 2000. Capitalizing on this initiative and other lessons and experiences gained from the BRP, SEARCA endeavors to be more responsive to emerging regional concerns and other global developments, as it pertains to the environment and natural resources. One such regional and global concern is climate change.

The conference will provide the venue for a discussion of opportunities for adapting to and mitigating climate change, while enhancing the conservation of biodiversity in the region. To keynote the opening program is Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Thematic papers and case studies from participating countries will be presented on the first day. The second day will be a workshop or mini-roundtable discussion to identify the elements of a feasible regional research-for-development program on biodiversity and climate change, with short talks by representatives of the donor community on their perspectives in supporting such efforts in the Southeast Asian region.

The event is jointly organized by SEARCA, ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, World Agroforestry Centre, Bioversity International (formerly the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute or IPGRI), and Silliman University.

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