MANILA, Philippines – Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau chief Theresa Mundita Lim has been appointed to head a United Nations committee on biodiversity conservation.
Lim will serve a two-year term at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as the head of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTTA).
SBSTTA is an intergovernmental body that gives scientific advice to the CBD’s Conference of Parties or COP.
The Canada-based CBD is an international legally-binding treaty with three main goals: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of biodiversity, fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who endorsed Lim to the post, welcomed the appointment and called it a recognition of the country’s efforts to conserve and protect its biodiversity.
“It would allow the Philippines to show how its biodiversity programs can benefit humanity. Biodiversity is the wealth of the planet. In the Philippines, our aim is to explore biodiversity in a way that benefits the surrounding communities,” Lopez said.
As SBSTTA chair, Lim will advise and recommend to the COP’s other bodies the assessment of the status of biodiversity and other measures taken to successfully implement the convention, if necessary.
Lim is a graduate of veterinary medicine from the University of the Philippines and has been championing wildlife protection and biodiversity conservation in the Philippines.