Page 393

Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand

9th  Asia  Pacific  RCE  Meeting 30  June  2016 The  9th  Asia  Pacific  Regional  Center  of  Expertise  (AP  RCE)  Meeting  was  held  on  the  30th  of  June  2016,  hosted  by  RCE  Cha-am at  the  Sirindhorn  International  Environmental  Park  (SIEP)  in  Cha-am,  Phetchaburi  Province,  Thailand.  Together  with  the  International  Conference  on  Climate  Change,  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystems  Services  (ICCBES)  for  Sustainable  Development  Goals:  Policy  and  Practice  on  June  27-29  and  the  Intergovernmental  Platform  on  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystems  Services  (IPBES)  Capacity  Building Workshop  on  Policy  Support  Tools  on  July  1-2,  as  its  back-to-back  events,  the  9th  AP  RCE  Meeting  was  rendered  more  significant  as  it  was  within  the  celebration  of  the  5th  Cycle  Birthday  Anniversary  of  HRH  Princess  Maha  Chakri  Sirindhorn. Opening  Programme The  meeting  started  off  with  an  opening remark  by  Dr.  Munirah  Ghazali,  overall  meeting facilitator.  Dr.  Sonjai  Havanond,  the  Director  of  SIEP  welcomed  the  participants.  Dr.  Havanond  briefly  emphasized  that  SIEP,  the  lead  stakeholder  of  RCE  Cha-am,  needs  the  cooperation  of  the  RCEs  to  implement  its  programmes,  especially  those  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  Sufficiency  Economy  Philosophy  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Thailand. Dr.  Mario  Tabucanon,  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  Global  RCE  Service  Centre,  reminded  members  of  the  RCE  community’s  support  to  the  Global  Action  Programme  (GAP) on  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  (ESD)  and  of  the  implementation  of  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs)  expressed  during  the  9th  Global  RCE  Conference in  Okayama,  Japan.  GAP  and  SDGs  were  therefore  the  focal  discussions  of  the  meeting. It  was  reported  that  the  Global  RCE  community  had  grown  to  146  members. With  this,  the  network  had  to  be  strong  and  robust  in  its  operation  and  in  the  conduct  of  its  activities.  This  could  be  well-effected  through  self-assessment  of  RCEs.  The  output  of  the  regional  meeting  was  important  since  the  outcome  will  be  presented  and  followed  up  during  the  10th  Global  RCE  Conference  in  Yogyakarta.  It  was  announced  that  Dr.  Kiran  Chhokar  had  been  appointed  as  a  new  regional adviser  of  AP  RCEs  as  of  January  2016. Introduction  of  Participants The  newly  acknowledged  RCEs  in  the  Asia-Pacific  region  that  were  represented  at  the meeting  were  duly  recognized.  Participants  made  their  self-introduction. Review  of  the  8th  AP  RCE  Meeting Mr.  Bernabe  Mijares  Jr.  of  RCE  Bohol  presented  the  highlights  of  the  8th  AP  RCE  Meeting,  held  in  the  University  of  the  Philippines,  Cebu  Campus,  Cebu  City  on  March 6-7,  2015  and  in  Bohol  Island  State  University, Tagbilaran  City,  Bohol  on  March  8,  2015.  The  highlights  of  the  review  included  the  discussion on  the  strategic  roadmap  for  promoting  ESD  beyond  2014  with  ways  for  making  substantial contributions  to  the  Global  Action  Program  on  ESD. Progress  of  the  Global  RCE  Network Ms.  Kyoko  Shiota  of  UNU-IAS  reported on  the  progress  of  the  Global  RCE  Network.  The  presentation  mainly  comprised  two  parts:  (1)  development  of  RCE  Network  and  (2)  overview  of  RCE-related  activities,  implemented since  April  2015.  The  first  part  focused  on  the  recognition  of  new  RCEs  in  Asia-Pacific,  Africa  and  the  Middle  East  and  the  Americas.  The  addition  of  these  newly  acknowledged  networks  rendered  a  total  of  146  RCEs  Proceedings  of  the  International  Conference  on  Climate  Change,  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services  for  the 391 Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs):  Policy  and  Practice  27-29  June  2016,  Cha-am,  Phetchaburi,  Thailand


Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
To see the actual publication please follow the link above