Side Event
Heart of Borneo Side-Event
Organizer
WWF on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, the Government of Indonesia
Date and Time
27 March 2006 13:15 - 15:0
Concept for HOB side event during CBD/COP8 A. Background The ‘Heart of Borneo’ initiative presents a unique opportunity to conserve a total of 220,000 sq km of pristine equatorial rainforest i.e. almost 30% of the world’s third largest island. WWF aims to assist Borneo’s three nations (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) to conserve the ‘Heart of Borneo’ through a network of protected areas and sustainably-managed forest, and through international co-operation led by the Bornean governments and supported by a global effort. In the first phase, the programme’s goal is a declaration for the ‘Heart of Borneo’ signed by the Heads of Government of Borneo’s three nations prior to the Convention of Biological Diversity meeting (COP 8) in March 2006. One of the focal themes in the CBD is the Programme of Work on Protected Areas, which is also a core theme in the Heart of Borneo programme. In the second phase, the programme will focus on implementation in which securing sustainable conservation finance is one of the biggest challenges. The CBD is chosen as a venue to publicize the HOB because one of the objectives of the CBD is to “promote national and regional conservation efforts by strengthening the implementation of the Convention by governments and donors and reinforcing the links between conservation and development”. Side events are one mechanism through which can be used to promote conservation goals. These have been used successfully in previous international fora to encourage commitments by Governments, donors and conservation partners. The flow of donor funds through the CBD for Convention-based commitments has increased in recent years through the GEF, government aid agencies and other international institutions obligated under the CBD and WSSD targets. The COP8 thus provides an opportunity to encourage agencies to commit to support the Heart of Borneo and its post-declaration implementation, and to identify options for long term financing mechanisms to support the programme’s implementation. B. Purpose v Short term: o Statement of the Heart of Borneo by the Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam o To publicize the Heart of Borneo o To create a dialogue among (potential) donors, NGOs, academics and key actors to explore options for meeting the financing requirements of the HOB implementation, in the context of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. v Long term: o MoU and joint action plan for Heart of Borneo implementation after the CBD/COP 8 o To encourage donors to commit to support the Heart of Borneo and its implementation o To identify options for long term financing mechanisms to support the programme implementation. C. Expected Outputs v Broader understanding of the costs of implementing HOB programme, the economic benefits they will accrue, and strategies, tools, and positive examples that will help countries fund strategies for the implementation of HOB programme. This will lead to: o Concept(s) for large scale proposal o Specific donor investment commitment D. Schedule and Venue: v Schedule: During CBD/COP8: March 20-31, 2006 March 27, 2006 lunchtime Venue Curitiba, Brazil Still need to reserve a meeting room E. Programme 1. Opening Remarks Speaker: Jim Leape, Director General, WWF-International 2. HOB Presentation: update on HOB progress and achievement Speaker: Mubariq Ahmad – Executive Director, WWF-Indonesia (WWF-Indonesia and Malaysia act as Secretariat for HOB) 3. Government Statement on HOB - ID govt. Speaker: Dr. Sunaryo – Senior Advisor to the Minister of Forestry, the Government of Indonesia 4. Government Statement on HOB - MY govt. Speaker: 5. Government Statement on HOB - BR govt. Speaker: 6. Closing Remarks: - Call for support and commitment. Speaker: 7. Lunch F. Guests - Limited to a maximum of 100 people, including co-hosts. G. Products v HOB publication materials