SEA prepares for IUCN congress

Government representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam attended the week-long (April 1-5) 3rd Southeast Asia Regional Meeting-International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Resources (IUCN) World Commission on protected Areas (WCPA) in Shangrila, Manila.

The meeting was in preparation for the 5th IUCN World Parks Congress to be held in Durbin, Africa on Sept. 8-17, 2003. The regional meeting was spearheaded by the DENR-protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) in collaboration with the ASEAN Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC), the Foundation for Philippine Environment, Birdlife International and Haribon Foundation.

The World Parks Congress is a major international event where the big issues for the protected area profession are drawn and debated. It is a 10-yearly event which provides the major global forum for setting the agenda for protected areas (PAs).

With the theme "Benefits Beyond Boundaries", the 5th Congress will face the challenge of showing how relevant are the protected areas in the broader economic, social, and environment agenda for humankind in the 21st Century.

Likewise, the congress aims to capture the opportunities for protected areas in the next millennium and the range of meanings/interpretations implicit within the terms "benefits" and "boundaries".

Issues to be discussed in the congress are the role of protected areas in alleviating poverty; how protected areas adapt and anticipate global change; the place of protected areas as part of sustainable future; and the contribution of protected areas to security.

The Durban Accord, a collective vision for the future of protected areas, is also hoped to emerge from the Congress. The congress will also serve as a venue for the development of stronger alliances between protected areas and other parts of society and the global economy, such as resource and tourism sectors.

As this is the first time a World Parks Congress will be held in Africa, Durban will influence African decision-makers to act as stimulus for increased support and action for the crucial role that protected areas play in livelihood of the people of Africa.

Previous World Parks Congresses were held in Seattle, USA (1962); Yellowstone, USA (1972), Bali, Indonesia (1982), and Caracas, Venezuela, (1992).