A(n Expiring) Youth’s Reflections on the 8th IUCN Asia Regional Conservation Forum

I was privileged to participate in the 8^th IUCN Asia Regional Conservation Forum (RCF) held in Bangkok in September 2024 as a Young Professional Focal Point for the Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP). The three-day event was brimming with discussions that provided plenty of food for thought and the spirit of Asian conservation with a general theme of “Reimagining Conservation in Asia: A Nature-Positive Future”. While all valuable insights from such discussions are too rich to be justly summarized in a blog post, I would like to highlight some of them that I—as a new commission member to IUCN, an aging Young Professional (< 35 years old, not for long), and an ecologist in training—find thought-provoking and memorable even a couple of months after.

The Asia RCF allowed me to interact with IUCN in person and experience firsthand what constitutes the Union and its role in nature conservation in the region and across the globe. As Dr. Campilan, the Regional Director for IUCN Asia, said, it is difficult to be  part of a movement one doesn’t understand. Therefore, what is IUCN Asia and who are its members? Based on the dynamic interactions I observed in the forum, we are a Union of people from diverse institutions, cultures, and ideas who work for the sustained survival of biological diversity and thriving communities across the South to North-East Asia region. Formally, the Union consists of the Members, Committee, commission members, and the Secretariat, including the Asia Regional Office that spearheaded the Asia RCF preparation and facilitation. In one of the Members’ sessions, I learned that for now, private companies are yet to be internalized as IUCN, but they are more and more engaged; some of their representatives are active commission members. In the domain of IUCN membership, a ‘homework’ for the Union is to instate an accessible membership framework for indigenous and local communities, as expressed by Mr. Kittisak Rrattanakrajangsri, the keynote speaker from Indigenous Peoples Foundation for Education and Environment, Thailand, and echoed by many other RCF participants.

In addition to amplifying the voice of indigenous communities, the Asia RCF 2024 also set a standard in highlighting youth and intergenerational collaborations. As Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, pointed out “Youths ARE the generation (instead of referring to youths as the next generation) … because they are here with us, not in separate rooms”. This innovative view in recognizing youths in conservation is reflected in the RCF agenda; at least three out of the 51 activities put Youth Leaders on stage and catalyzed conversations between young professionals and their counterparts in the Union. I noticed that many other successful events at  the RCF, such as the side event ‘Strengthening landscape approaches in Asia’—despite not being advertised as youth-led—were spearheaded by a proficient IUCN Young Professional and greatly supported by the youth volunteers from the local universities. As a young professional, I am inspirited by the tangible IUCN commitments and efforts in internalizing youth and indigenous communities in nature conservation.

From the technical domains of the Asia RCF, knowledge and skill sharing was happening inside and outside the dedicated Technical and Learning Zone activities. The multidisciplinary nature of the Union’s approach to nature conservation was celebrated across the sessions that covered diverse topics; the talks were delivered by international experts from broad fields that comprised finance, ecology, agriculture, law, governance, technology, social sciences, and architecture. These sessions were engaging and accessible and synthesized the current state(s) and future improvements of various aspects of nature conservation at local, regional, and global scales with strong emphases on the Asian case studies. In the conservation finance sessions, for instance, the growing commitments from international finance institutions—both public and private—have supported the establishment of new protected areas (PA) in Southeast Asia and marked the commencement of the Nature Solutions Finance Hub (NSFH) for Asia-Pacific. If sustained, such developments are pivotal in making the 30x30 Biodiversity goal, i.e. to protect 30% of land & water by 2030, more attainable. However, roles in supplementing resources for PA operations post-establishment are vacant despite their importance in ensuring PA effectiveness¹.

In summary, the RCF has successfully kindled the spirit of IUCN in conserving the mega-diverse region of Asia through reimagined conservation by means of inclusive collaborations and constructive feedback. I am convinced that nature conservation in Asia has benefitted from the three-day forum. There is more to be gained if we effectively harness the momentum as part of a global Union; voices and contributions from Asia to the IUCN One Programme are valuable to enhance synergy and collaboration across the IUCN and beyond. My indispensable experience from Asia RCF often makes me wonder how impactful the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi will be.

I would like to express my huge gratitude to the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy for fully supporting my attendance at the 8^th IUCN Asia RCF and the publication of this blog post.
 

1. Spoorthy Raman for Mongabay. 3 Sep 2024. “Protected areas in SE Asia could do better with more resources, study finds”. Online article: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/protected-areas-in-se-asia-could-do-better-with-more-resources-study-finds/