The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) will organize the Fourth ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) Conference in the Philippines, with support from the GIZ Biodiversity and Climate Change Project, and the Government of the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Tourism. The conference is for park managers in Southeast Asia to discuss how to achieve international biodiversity targets and identify opportunities for international cooperation. Thematic sessions will be organized on: effective management of protected areas; biodiversity and climate change; integrating biodiversity values; ecotourism, business and biodiversity; and indigenous and local communities in protected areas. AHP conferences take place every three years. The ACB serves as the secretariat of the AHP Programme, which aims to ensure that park managers, policy makers, conservationists, scientists and other stakeholders benefit from available best practices and lessons on the management of AHPs and other protected areas. The ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks was agreed and signed by the environment ministers of the 10 ASEAN Member States in December 2003 in Yangon, Myanmar. There are more than 32 ASEAN Heritage Parks in the region.  

dates: 1-4 October 2013   location: Cagayan De Oro, Philippines   contact: ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity   phone: +63-49-536-3989   fax: +63-49-536-2865   e-mail: ahp@aseanbiodiversity.org   www: http://www.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=513:philippines-to-host-the-the-fourth-asean-heritage-parks-conference