1st ASEAN congress on mangroves

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – About 100 experts on mangroves from Southeast Asia will meet in Manila on Dec. 3-7 for the ‘First ASEAN Congress on Mangrove Research and Development.’

The five-day scientific forum is being organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB) in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

To be held at the Century Park, the congress provides a venue for the exchange of research information and update among researchers and managers on the status of mangrove resources management in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, said director Marcial C. Amaro Jr. of the Los Baños-based ERDB which is DENR’s research arm.

Amaro said the conference would identify research and development (R&D) gaps on mangrove resources management and integrate science into the formulation and implementation of a mangrove conservation and management plan.

The congress, he added, is expected to stimulate interest in mangrove R&D in the light of climate change and disaster risk reduction, among other things.

Expected to attend the conference are about 100 participants from the ASEAN countries, specifically Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,  Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Philippine delegation will come from the DENR, DFA, Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARD), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and the Los Baños-based ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB).

Representatives of state colleges and universities (SCUs) will also present papers and posters on their mangrove R&D work. Non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations will also be represented.

For more information about the congress, contact Dr. Honorato G. Palis at [email protected].