James N. Levitt, Director of Land and Water Conservation Programs, Lincoln Institute of Land PolicyLiu Shenmin, Asia Representative, International Land Conservation Network (ILCN), Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Chen Yunzhu, Senior Program Officer, Global Environmental Institute (GEI)Giovanni Soliman Bete Reyes, Chair, Philippine Indigenous and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCA) ConsortiumMelissa Junaidi Payne, Deputy Director, Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP)

Click the "Read Original Article" link at the bottom left of this post to watch the full original English video and download supporting webinar materials.

In December 2022, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) adopted the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which sets a core target of conserving 30 percent of the planet’s land, coastal zones and inland water bodies by 2030 (the 30×30 target). Across Asia, conservation practitioners are carrying out diverse on-the-ground conservation initiatives to advance this global goal. To address this agenda, the International Land Conservation Network under the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy hosted a dedicated webinar focusing on grassroots and community land conservation across Asia, to exchange experiences of grassroots conservation groups and their contributions to delivering the 30×30 target.

This webinar provided an overview of grassroots and community land conservation throughout Asia, with a special focus on Southeast Asia, alongside field case studies from multiple subregions. Panelists also shared practical experience on partnerships between non-governmental organizations, local communities and Indigenous peoples to advance the 30×30 conservation agenda.

First, Chen Yunzhu, Senior Program Officer at the Global Environmental Institute (GEI), highlighted the critical value of land and biodiversity conservation in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, as well as the unique characteristics and irreplaceable importance of Indigenous and community-led conservation. She introduced the establishment and development roadmap of GEI’s East and Southeast Asia Community Conservation Network, and detailed two flagship GEI projects in Indonesia: a women-centered mangrove conservation initiative and a community-participatory renewable energy transition program.

The second speaker, Giovanni Reyes, Chair of the Philippine ICCA Consortium, shared culture-based ecological conservation case studies from Indigenous communities in the Philippines. Local Indigenous peoples translate intergenerational traditional knowledge of forests and natural resources into tangible spatial records through 3D mapping, guiding communities and scientists to implement more effective local conservation action. He emphasized that Indigenous and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) are a linchpin for achieving the 30×30 target and deserve equal recognition alongside other protected area categories and conservation approaches.

The third panelist, Melissa Payne from Sabah, Malaysia and Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), presented Malaysia’s practical experience with Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs). Her presentation covered OECM definitions, site selection frameworks, assessment standards and official recognition procedures, supplemented by several representative local OECM case studies.

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