Side Event

Presentation of the Marine Protected Areas Gap Analysis

Organizer
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

Date and Time
18 October 2010 13:15 - 14:45

Meeting
Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10)

In 2004, the 7th Conference of Parties (COP7) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) drafted the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) to support the establishment and maintenance of comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional systems of protected areas. Towards this end, the CBD recommended that governments conduct a gap analysis of biodiversity and existing protected areas to identify what should be included in PA networks and/or to assess the effectiveness of a country’s existing PA system in protecting biodiversity. To catalyze the conduct of gap analysis in the ASEAN region, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity provided technical assistance to ASEAN Member States in the preparation of gap analyses for marine and terrestrial PAs. The Side Event “Presentation of Marine Protected Areas Gap Analysis” will highlight the marine protected areas gap analyses (mGAP) conducted by ASEAN Member States through country presentations and recommendations on how each country plans to move forward. Experts and marine protected area managers and practitioners will have an opportunity to provide insights on how to improve the process of mGAP analysis, assist with implementation, and highlight the importance of the process in the context of the larger global environmental picture. Participants to this side event will gain an overview of the MPA Gap Analysis in the ASEAN region and learn about the significance of the MPA gap process in determining marine areas requiring protection and appropriate management.