Forests for People

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Conserving forest biodiversity

in the ASEAN region

Rodrigo U. Fuentes and Norman Emmanuel C. Ramirez, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Philippines

orest biodiversity refers to all forms of life found in

forests, including trees, plants, animals, fungi and micro-

organisms, and their roles in nature. In biologically

diverse forests, this complexity allows organisms to adapt to

continually changing environmental conditions and to maintain

ecosystem functions.

South-East Asia, also known as the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN) region, has one of the most diverse forest ecosys-

tems in the world.

However, a number of endemic plant and animal

species that are dependent on the health of forest ecosystems are at

risk owing to the pressure exerted on their habitat. The fragmentation

of forests following the construction of roads, agriculture and human

settlement development has reduced the corridors in which wildlife

can move or migrate. For example, forest clearances in Indonesia,

exacerbated by illegal logging in 37 national parks, have affected many

orangutan populations, driving the species towards extinction.

The ASEAN region has a higher number of native species compared

to the rest of Asia, including China, India, Japan and Korea. In

2010, as reported by the International Union for Conservation of

Nature, the Philippines had the highest number of criti-

cally endangered and endangered native species, while

Indonesia had the highest number of vulnerable native

species, followed by Malaysia and Viet Nam.

The transformation of forests in the region has been

extensive, especially over the last 50 years. Almost 8,000

years ago, the entire region was covered by forests. As

of 2000, only 47 per cent of the ASEAN region was

forested. By 2007, the forest cover of the entire region

was down by four percentage points, at 43 per cent.

Initiatives that support forest biodiversity

Forest ecosystems require effective governance focused on

enforcement of binding laws and forest policies, engage-

ment of communities, local government and private

stakeholders and comprehensive capacity-building

programmes for institutions involved in law enforcement.

In this region, efforts are being pursued in refor-

estation and afforestation, social forestry and

community-based forest management. Two ongoing

key programmes merit support: the forest certification

programmes based on sustainable forest manage-

ment principles and the Action Plan on Forest Law

Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

The formulation of a forest certification programme

involves close partnerships between governments and

the private sector. Each programme requires a third-

party auditor to certify the environmental and social

soundness of a forestry operator and the products that

are produced. Malaysia has adopted this type of initia-

tive to create the Malaysia Timber Certification Council.

The FLEGT, on the other hand, involves partnership

agreements between producer and consumer countries

aimed at combating illegal timber trading.

Conservation of forest biodiversity is one of the major

concerns of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB),

an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate

cooperation and coordination among the ASEANMember

States and with relevant national government and regional

and international organizations on the conservation and

sustainable use of biological diversity and the fair and

equitable sharing of benefits arising from it.

ACB is active in international discussions on concerns

such as payments for ecosystem services, economic valu-

ation of biodiversity, taxonomy, invasive alien species,

wildlife enforcement, climate change, ecotourism and

Deciduous forest in Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, Myanmar

Image: Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, Myanmar