ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook 3

*An online version and the downloadable electronic copy may be accessed at http://abo3.aseanbiodiversity.org/

The ASEAN region is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies where people are enjoying a new era of prosperity. More than 660 million people are dependent on the region’s rich natural heritage for their livelihood, welfare, and well-being. However, pressures mostly brought about by anthropogenic factors are now exacting a high price—the depletion of the region’s precious and unique biodiversity that supports its economic advancement. The post-2020 global biodiversity framework presents the opportunity and means to address the unprecedented biodiversity loss in the region and the world.

The extensive conservation efforts of the ASEAN Member States (AMS), as reflected in their Sixth National Reports (6NRs) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as regional initiatives to contribute to the sustainable use of the region’s biological resources, are presented by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in the Third Edition of the ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook (ABO 3). The ABO 3 recommends narrative shifts to draw more attention to the collective, responsible, and pragmatic actions for biodiversity using the most recent available information on the progress, achievements, and areas for improvement of biodiversity in the region.

Guided by the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (Aichi Targets), the region’s progress, challenges, and ways forward are articulated through the following goals:
• Mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society;
• Reducing the direct pressures on biodiversity and promoting sustainable use;
• Safeguarding ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity;
• Enhancing the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services; and
• Enhancing implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management, and capacity building.

The AMS showed significant variability in their progress in achieving biodiversity conservation targets. Collectively, the ASEAN region faced both challenges and opportunities in realising the Aichi Targets, a scenario which is mirrored globally, as related in the Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO 5).