Dear Ms. Kusuma Sari,
The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in cooperation with the ASEAN Member States (AMS), the ASEAN Secretariat and partner organizations, is organizing the Second ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity (ACB2016) with the theme “Biodiversity for Sustainable Development” on 15 – 19 February 2016 in Bangkok. The Conference will be held at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre, Central World in Bangkok, Thailand. Hosting this auspicious event is the Royal Thai Government.
Around 500 representatives from ASEAN governments, international organizations, scientific and research community, NGOs and academe are expected to participate in this very significant gathering of biodiversity stakeholders in Southeast Asia. ACB2016 aims to provide a forum for exchanging perspectives on initiatives that address biodiversity issues in the region and discussing steps forward in advancing the ASEAN biodiversity agenda within the context of the Aichi Targets and the newly adopted global mandate on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Specifically, ACB2016 will:
provide a venue to report and discuss the status of biodiversity in the ASEAN region and progress made by the AMS to achieve the Aichi biodiversity targets;
discuss key biodiversity issues that are important to the region, including the gaps and challenges in ASEAN Member States’ biodiversity conservation efforts;
recommend ways forward in addressing the region’s biodiversity challenges; and
promote the work of ACB and the ASEAN in biodiversity conservation to position themselves as key players in responding to both global and regional biodiversity agenda.
The event will highlight the following: (1) Progress in achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and its linkages to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; (2) Ecosystem-based approaches to manage critical ecosystems and biodiversity; (3) Access and benefit sharing; and (4) Business and biodiversity. Other priority themes such as Health and Biodiversity, Climate Change and Biodiversity, and Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity will also be highlighted in the Conference.
In this regard, we are pleased to invite you to participate in the conference. Specifically, we would like to request you to be one of the Panelists for Session 1: ASEAN’s Progress in Achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, in Cluster 1- Global and Regional Biodiversity Outlooks on 16 February 2016, between 9:00 am to 10:30 am. As Panelist, we request you to provide a reflection on the session as it relates to the paper presentations for a maximum of 10 minutes to allow for the other members of the Panel to provide their own reflections.
We kindly request that your biography and photo be sent to the Conference Secretariat by 4 February 2016, so that we may include this in the Conference Programme. You may also visit the ACB2016 website for more details and register online at: http://aseanbiodiversity.org/acb2016/ on or before 4 February 2016.
With the generous funding support from the Royal Government of Thailand, ACB2016 organizers will cover all costs of your participation to ACB2016 Conference in Bangkok including round trip economy airfare, food and accommodation, and miscellaneous expenses. Kindly coordinate with the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning (ONEP) with regards to your airfare and other logistical arrangements. You may contact MR. PREECHA THANAWIWATCHAI of the Integrated Promotion and Technology (IPT) Company through this email address: iptforcon@gmail.com ; nfp.onep@gmail.com. Kindly copy your communications as well to pdi@aseanbiodiversity.org.
We are indeed grateful to the continued support of Indonesia to ACB and we count on your participation for the successful conduct of the ACB2016. The year 2016 will also mark the start of ASEAN’s integration into one community and this ACB2016 event in Bangkok would provide an impetus towards enhancing implementation and way forward for ASEAN’s strategic agenda on ensuring environmental sustainability in the region.
We thank you for your participation and cooperation.
Yours sincerely,