The Philippines is hosting the first-ever international conference on conservation financing in a bid to scale up funding for ongoing efforts to conserve Southeast Asia’s rich biological diversity.
Slated for March 3-4, 2015 at the Hotel H2O in Manila, the International Conference on Conservation Financing in Southeast Asia will bring together conservation finance experts, key government officials and environmental policymakers, park managers of conservation areas, and noted resource and environmental economists in the region.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is organizing the conference, in collaboration with the Biodiversity and Watersheds Improved for Stronger Ecosystem Resilience (B+WISER) Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), and the Asian Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).
Among the objectives of the conference are to seek innovative financing schemes that mobilize funding and community action needed to provide the long-term sustainability, and secure healthier ecosystems and improved livelihoods for forest dependent communities.
The event is also expected to provide an avenue for the formation of Conservation Financing Knowledge Network as community of practitioners.
Among the expected resource persons include Dr. Herminia Francico, director of economy and environment program for Southeast Asia, WorldFish and Dr. Gem Castillo, president of the Resource and Environmental Economics Association of the Philippines. Dr. Francisco will present the overview of conservation financing schemes while Dr. Castillo will tackle fiscal gap and financing of Southeast Asia’s protected areas.
The 2-day event is divided into four sessions. Session 1 will focus on conservation finance mechanisms for global goods; Session 2 will cover conservation financing for ecosystem services with local benefits and as inputs to production; Session 3 will deal on conservation financing for consumption goods and nature-based recreation while Session 4 will be on conservation financing for coastal and marine ecosystems.
Two roundtable discussions on conservation fund and park management experiences in the ASEAN region will also be conducted during the event. ###
