New partners in South and Southeast Asia join the NbS Asian Hub cooperation network
During the 8th IUCN Asia Conservation Forum (RCF), five new organisations signed letters of intent to join the cooperation network of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Asian Hub. Signed at the side event titled 'Nature-based Solution in Asia: Practices, Perspectives and Roadmap' during the RCF, expansion of the cooperation network will boost efforts to mainstream NbS in Asia. The NbS Asian Hub will work closely with its new and existing partners over the coming months to plan for collaborative activities.
The NbS Asian Hub is a collaborative mechanism between IUCN and the Ministry of Natural Resources of China. It serves as a platform to facilitate coordination and collaboration, fostering partnerships with local governments, universities, research institutes, NGOs and businesses across Asia.
"IUCN is committed to enabling credible, high integrity and measurable NbS progress in Asia, working closely with global, national and sub-national members and partners," commented Dr Radhika Murti, Director of the IUCN Centre for Societal Transformation during the side event. "We are working to enhance the integration and application of NbS in a number of areas, including climate change and disaster risk, agriculture, socio-economic development, water security and one health, as well as promoting community and sector engagement."
Representatives of five organisations from Cambodia, India, Thailand and Viet Nam attended the side event and signed letters of intent to join the cooperation network.
The new partners are as follows:
- The Department of Northern Tonle Sap Terrestrial Protected Areas Conservation, General Directorate of Natural Protected Areas, Ministry of Environment Cambodia (Cambodia)
- Applied Environmental Research Foundation (India)
- Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts (Thailand)
- Center for for Environment and Community Research (Viet Nam)
- Center for Sustainable Rural Development (Viet Nam)
The above five organisations are the first partners to join the cooperation network, following the College of Architecture and Landscape of Peking University and the Yancheng City Wetland and World Natural Heritage Conservation and Management Center, both of which joined the network as founding partners.
“The Asian Hub's primary objectives are to promote NbS practices, facilitate knowledge sharing and advocate for policy support. In order to achieve these objectives, it would be beneficial to collaborate closely with key stakeholders and partners.” said Dr Luo Ming, Executive Deputy Director, NbS Asian Hub. “The projects of the NbS Asian Hub should be processed through engagement with our partners and stakeholders in Asia, and we would be grateful to receive support from the NbS Global Management Hub.”
The Hub is currently exploring the possibility of compiling NbS best practice guidelines, as well as a flagship report on the outlook of NbS in Asia along with a compilation of best practices. The partners from the cooperation network will be prioritised in relevant consultation and collaboration processes. Furthermore, the Hub will work closely with the Global Management Hub to facilitate joint promotion of NbS in Asia with the partners.
The signing ceremony took place during the side event, entitled "Nature-based Solutions in Asia: Practices, Perspectives and Roadmap", which was held at the Asia RCF and attended by approximately 100 participants from various countries in Asia.
At the event, the inaugural English-language publication, Xiamen practice - a case study of integrating Nature-based Solutions in coastal city development, also saw its launch. The report was jointly published by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China and the NbS Asian Hub.
The report is now accessible on the IUCN Library via https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/51556.