Public-private partnerships will be vital to restoring coastal and marine ecosystems, according to BCS presentation for International Day for Biological Diversity.
– BCS participated in a conference at The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam in Bangkok on 23 May to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity
– BCS Director Dr Wit Soontaranun highlighted how ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows are vital to biodiversity, both directly and as carbon sinks
– Dr Soontaranun underscored how the public and private sectors must work together to resolve the challenges facing such habitats
Bangkok 30 May, 2018 – Blue Carbon Society (BCS), an association dedicated to the well-being of ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes, highlighted how public-private collaboration can help preserve seas and coasts at a conference in Bangkok on 23 May for the UN’s International Day for Biological Diversity.
BCS Director Dr Wit Soontaranun’s presentation underscored the vital importance of marine and coastal environments to biodiversity – both directly and through countering climate change – and how their many challenges require cross-sector partnerships.
“Coastal ecosystems are crucial to biological diversity not only directly, as nurseries for fish and feeding grounds for marine mammals, especially endangered species. They also contribute to biodiversity worldwide by absorbing carbon and helping mitigate climate change,” he said.
“But they are habitats that require the public and private sectors to work together closely. To rehabilitate a degraded coastal environment, for example, we must carry out research, raise public awareness about polluting, transform how we deal with waste, clean up the actual site, and also win over the local community. All that requires diverse resources and expertise.”
The conference at The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam was hosted by organizations including the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) and the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thailand.
Over 80 experts participated in the event, representing government agencies, local government, NGOs, academia, and the private sector. Attendees included Dr. Nawarat Krairapanond, Director of the Bureau of the Environmental Fund; Dr. Jessica Alvsilver, Regional Node Adviser for Asia-Pacific at UNDP; Mr. Surapol Duangkarn, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Environmental Management at ONEP and a member of its Environmental Fund Committee; and Mr. Decha Siripat, founder and Chairman of Khaokwan Foundation.
#BlueCarbonSociety, # BiologicalDiversity, #coastalecosystems
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About Blue Carbon Society
Blue Carbon Society (BCS) is a Thailand-based association that inspires global action to improve the capacity of marine and coastal environments to combat climate change.
Established in 2017 by Dr. Jwanwat and Mrs. Thippaporn Ahriyavraromp, the organization is named after the ‘blue carbon’ that ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows gather and store, taking carbon dioxide from human activities from the atmosphere.
BCS aims to environments by organizing activities, forming a knowledge hub, building collaboration, and developing expertise and human capital.
About the International Day for Biological Diversity
The United Nations has proclaimed 22 May the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase awareness of biodiversity issues. The global festival this year is themed ‘Celebrating 25 years of action for biodiversity’, marking the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
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