Call for SEA to pledge protection of land and ocean by 2030

Saving the oceans: Campaign for Nature calls for South-East Asian nations to save marine life like corals from being destroyed. — Reuters

A growing global push to safeguard nature by pledging to protect about a third of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030 will fall short unless biodiversity-rich South-East Asian nations get behind the ambitious proposal, environmentalists have warned.

Leaders of the G7 wealthy nations this month backed a coalition of about 60 countries that have already promised to conserve at least 30% of their land and oceans by 2030 (30x30) to curb climate change and the loss of plant and animal species.

Cambodia is the only South-East Asian nation to have signed up to the goal so far, although it has been endorsed by countries in other parts of Asia-Pacific, including Japan, Pakistan and the Maldives.

Brian O’Donnell, director of the US-based Campaign for Nature, which is calling on world leaders to back the pledge, said it was “very important” to get governments in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) on board.

“Given the incredible biodiversity in the region, much of which is facing pressure, Asean countries are a key voice to support 30x30, ” he said.

South–East Asian countries cover just 3% of the Earth’s surface but are home to three of the world’s 17 “megadiverse” countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, according to the Campaign for Nature.

These “megadiverse” nations have been identified by conservationists as being the richest in species, in a bid to raise awareness and spur protection efforts.

South-East Asia’s land and ocean contain 35% of mangrove forests and 30% of coral reefs, while more than 2, 000 animal and plant species have been discovered there over the past two decades.

The region is also home to about 18% of the world’s endangered species, according to the Campaign for Nature.

In Indonesia, for example, the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is a high-priority conservation area and critical wildlife habitat, dubbed the “orangutan capital of the world”, while the endangered pygmy elephants live in the rainforests of Borneo.

But several Asean countries are experiencing high deforestation rates, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia among the top countries for primary forest loss, according to monitoring service Global Forest Watch.

The 30x30 goal is included in the draft text of a new global treaty to protect the planet’s plants, animals and ecosystems, due to be agreed at an Oct 11-24 summit in China, according to officials at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. — Reuters