International Processes
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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
All 10 ASEAN Member States are parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, with the latest country Brunei Darussalam acceding to it on 27 July 2008 as its 191 party, and as such are obliged to implement relevant forest and forest-related Programs of the Convention, namely:
- An Ecosystem Approach that encompasses 12 principles to facilitate and enhance integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. More specifically, it emphasizes that management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level; involve all relevant sectors of society and scientific disciplines; align incentives to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; reduce market distortions that adversely affect biological diversity; and seek an appropriate balance between, and integration of, conservation and use of biological diversity.
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ASEAN High-level Seminar on the UNFCCC
ASEAN is a strong forestry block which comprises of 10 Member States including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. ASEAN Member States (AMS) have approximately 283.2 million ha of forests, which amount to 33.4% of the total countries' land area, and cover approximately 16% of the total tropical forests in the world (FAO, 2006).
In the context of climate change, land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) significantly contribute to global emissions. In the past 20 years, it has been estimated that the emissions from LULUCF have reached 1.65 Gt Carbon per year or about 17% of the global emissions (IPCC, 2006). About 75% of this has been from developing countries, especially those which have large areas of tropical forest (FAO, 2006).
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ASEAN's role in the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)
ASEAN was granted an observer status at the UNFF at the Fourth Session of the UNFF in May 2004. Since then ASEAN continues to actively participate and develop common positions for negotiation at the UNFF, with contributions by the ASEAN Experts Group on International Forest Policy Processes (AEG-IFPP). To enable effective coordination among ASEAN Member States in the deliberation and negotiation at the UNFF, the ASEAN Caucus on Forestry at the UNFF was established and its working modalities endorsed by the 10th Meeting of ASOF in 2007. ASEAN has undertaken a number of regional initiatives in support to the UNFF's work program. In June 2006, ASEAN provided its input paper on "Regional Elements and Proposals for a Non-legally Binding Instrument (NLBI) on All Types of Forests". This ASEAN's input together with other inputs from regional and international organizations, as well as UNFF member countries, were then consolidated into a composite draft text for developing an NLBI and as a platform for negotiation at UNFF-7.
