On 25-27 September 2019, the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) conducted a workshop on Communication, Education, and Public Awareness for ASEAN Heritage Parks held at Novotel Suite, Hanoi, Vietnam. The 3-day workshop is part of the implementation of the project on Improving Management Effectiveness of the ASEAN Heritage Parks through Capacity Development and Biodiversity Information Management funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), in collaboration with the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Agency (BCA), Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE).
The workshop aims to assist the ASEAN Member States in promoting the AHPs as models of effective protected area management. Speakers during the workshop were Mr. Eisen Bernard Bernardo, Senior Regional Communication Specialist of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security-Southeast Asia; Dr. Filiberto Pollisco Jr., ACB Consultant; and Ms. Sahlee Barrer, JAIF Consultant.
Highlights of the workshop were the following: draft AHP CEPA Plan for 2020-2025 and AHP Branding Guidelines. In addition, the participants visited the Van Long National Park, a protected area spanning 2,736 hectares. It has limestone and wetland ecosystems, and is home to 180 langur monkeys and other diverse flora and fauna.
Present during the workshop were Foresters Leilani A. Castillo, Myranel S. Canceran, Mae Belen L. Putian and Analyn C. Malayba of the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems (MCME). They represented the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve ASEAN Heritage Park (MMFR AHP).
By: Mae Belen L. Putian
Photos credit to: Mae Belen L. Putian and Myranel S. Canceran
