"A webinar jointly organised by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and Conservation on Natural Resources and Ecosystem Office (KSDAE) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Indonesia, Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, brought into sharp focus the need to support and invest more in protected areas amid the ongoing health crisis and towards building the post-COVID-19 pandemic new normal.

Titled ASEAN Heritage Parks and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts, Recovery, and Responses, the webinar held on Zoom and livestreamed on social media on 11 September 2020 featured a discussion with biodiversity experts and managers and representatives of protected areas designated as ASEAN Heritage Parks.

Among the speakers in the panel were Ir. Wiratno, M.Sc., Director-General of Conservation on Natural Resources and Ecosystem of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry; Indra Exploitasia, DVM, Director of Biodiversity Conservation of Directorate General of Conservation on Natural Resources and Ecosystem of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry; Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, executive director of the ACB; and managers of protected areas namely, Badiah Achmad Said, of Kepulauan Seribu National Park of Indonesia; Angelique Songco of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Philippines; and Nguyen Thanh Tam of Hoang Lieng National Park in Viet Nam; and representative of the community in Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia, Abdul Jalil Abd Rahman."