ASEAN Social Forestry Network Conference and CSO Forum held in Sabah

Member states, civil society organisations (CSOs), and community representatives from across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region have come together in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, for a series of meetings under the ASEAN Social Forestry Network and the theme "Enhancing Livelihood and Conservation Benefits from Social Forestry towards a Green ASEAN Community".

From 21-23 May, Holly Jonas (Natural Justice) joined more than 50 ASEAN-based organisations in the 3rd Annual CSO Forum, which was hosted by the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP), Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS), and Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The CSO Forum reviewed implementation of country-level roadmaps, shared support strategies, and developed working papers (on community economies and livelihoods, forest tenure and access rights, safeguards, and governance mechanisms) as the basis of CSO engagement in the 5th ASEAN Social Forestry Network Conference that followed on 24-25 May. The CSO Forum underscored that Indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities are "partners, not threats" in forest conservation and that secure land and resource tenure are essential prerequisites to conservation and livelihoods alike.

ASEAN Heritage Parks Conference

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) is attending the Fourth ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) Conference from 1-4 October in the Philippines. Participants will discuss how to achieve international biodiversity targets and identify opportunities for international cooperation. Thematic sessions include: effective management of protected areas; biodiversity and climate change; integrating biodiversity values; ecotourism, business and biodiversity; and indigenous and local communities in protected areas. 

Notably, the ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks was agreed and signed by the environment ministers of the 10 ASEAN Member States in December 2003 in Yangon, Myanmar. There are more than 32 ASEAN Heritage Parks in the region, including Kinabalu Park (Sabah Malaysia) about which Harry will speak. For more information, see here.

National Consultation in Sabah on Women's Rights in ASEAN

From 14-15 June, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a national consultation in Kinarut with women from East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) on human rights in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The consultation was organised by Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) and the Women's Aid Organisation, with support from the Southeast Asian Women's Caucus in ASEAN (Women's Caucus).

The two-day consultation included the following topics and activities:

• Introduction to the Women's Caucus,
• Introduction to ASEAN and its human rights mechanisms, including the ASEAN Charter and Human Rights Declaration, ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, and ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers,