13 September 2012: Environment ministers from Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India held a meeting on 7 September 2012, in New Delhi, India, and adopted the “New Delhi ASEAN-India Ministerial Statement on Biodiversity.” The statement has been circulated as an information document in preparation for the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

In the statement, participating ministers agree to, inter alia: enhance awareness among all stakeholders, especially policy-makers and the private sector, on the values of and threats to biodiversity; strive towards mainstreaming biodiversity concerns into development processes; work towards conservation and management of flagship species that would contribute to the conservation of entire ecosystems; create networks for sharing best practices in conservation and resource enhancement in marine biodiversity; and undertake preparatory national work as a basis for ratifying the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing (ABS).

With regard to CBD COP 11, to be held from 8-19 October 2012, in Hyderabad, India, they call for: agreement on interim measures on financial resource mobilization; regular discussions and recommendations for actions on biodiversity and livelihoods; enhancing Parties’ capacity in implementing the Nagoya Protocol on ABS; and encouraging the private sector’s contribution to implementation of the CBD and its Strategic Plan, while emphasizing that developed country Parties bear primary responsibility for providing adequate resources for implementation. [Publication: New Delhi ASEAN-India Ministerial Statement on Biodiversity] [ASEAN Website]