Presented by Corazon de Jesus (Director of the Sustainable Use and Access and Benefits Sharing Division, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity) at "A nature-positive trade for sustainable agriculture supply chains and inclusive development", Jakarta, Indonesia, on 26 - 27 Sep 2023

1. Biodiversity Conservation and
Livelihood: A balance in implementation
(ACB’s site-level experiences in
Sustainable Livelihood)
Regional Stakeholders Consultation in Asia: A nature-
positive trade for sustainable agriculture supply chains
and inclusive development
26 - 27 September 2023
Jakarta, Indonesia / online

2. • Established by the 10 ASEAN
Member States (AMS) in 2005
• Facilitates cooperation among the
AMS, and with relevant national
and international organisations on
the conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity in the region.
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

3. ACB Priority Programme Areas
Biodiversity
Conservation
Capacity
Development
Communication,
Education, and
Public Awareness
Mainstreaming
Biodiversity
Knowledge
Management
Partnerships

4. ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme
A flagship programme of the ASEAN that
manages a regional network of
representative protected areas created to
generate greater collaboration between
ASEAN Member States in preserving their
shared natural heritage

5. ACB’s Site-level (ASEAN Heritage Parks)
Experiences and Support to Livelihood
• Biodiversity-Based Products as an Economic Source for the
Improvement of Livelihood and Biodiversity Protection (BBP)
Project
• Small Grants Programme (SGP)

6. Objective: The ASEAN member states are supported by the ACB in
the promotion of biodiversity-based products for the improvement of
livelihoods and biodiversity protection, according to their needs
Key outcomes: Seven BBP value chains were promoted which
resulted in better income and conservation of biodiversity for local
communities:
• Cambodia: Vine handicrafts and black ginger are sold in the
market and established business linkages with buyers from Siem
Reap and Phnom Penh
• Lao PDR: Bamboo products were awarded with ODOP
Certificate; reduced logging, poaching and slash & burn reported;
provided regular income to the communities
• Viet Nam: Bo Khai, Medicinal Bath Herbs, Honey and Giao Co
Lam value chains provide premium income through sales &
purchase contracts with private sector; in-situ & ex-situ planting
measures continue to support biodiversity
BIODIVERSITY-BASED PRODUCTS
PROJECT (BBP) 2015 – 2019

7. SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME BY THE ASEAN CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY (SGP) (2014-2024)
Strengthening of biodiversity
protection and management of
natural resources in line with the
basic needs of the local population in
the ASEAN region by strengthening the
ACB in its role to promote biodiversity
protection.
National component:
• Improve biodiversity protection
• Improve the livelihood of local
communities
Regional component:
• Strengthen ACB’s role in
promoting biodiversity
protection
Financial Cooperation - KfW

8. Highlights
Con Dao National Park, Viet Nam
Photo by Pamela Q Reblora
8 training
conducted as of
June 2023
27 park staff
trained on
Protected Area
Management
Planning
75 grant projects
in SGP Indonesia
Contributed to Conservation of Key
Species: Orangutan, Tigers,
Rhinoceros, and Elephants
3,538 beneficiaries
trained with various Capacity
Development Activities
275, 100 hectares
Rehabilitated
27, 164.15 hectares
Protected and Monitored
10 Microgrant Projects
(composting, pig raising,
ecotourism training, awareness
raising)
10 Locations Facilitated for
Ecotourism Development
25 New Products Developed
under the Livelihood Model
MYANMAR
INDONESIA
6 nurseries
established for
mangrove
restoration
133,780
seedlings
produced for
mangrove
restoration
30 handy pods
installed in
ILWS
sanitation
improvement,
sustainable agriculture
community ecotourism
community forestry
sustainable fishery
27 park staff
trained on
Protected Area
Management
Planning
6 nurseries
established for
mangrove
restoration
133,780
seedlings
produced for
mangrove
restoration
30 handy pods
installed in
ILWS
VIETNAM
PARTICIPATORY SMALL GRANT ACTION
PLANNING FOR THE FOUR SGP SITES
18 Small grant projects
(thematic areas under conservation and livelihood,
including ecotourism, improvement of NTFPs,
support to farmers’ cooperatives)

9. INDONESIA
Project Outcomes
❖ Enhanced skill and capacity of women of targeted villages through series of alternative livelihood
interventions, i.e. bamboo handicraft, backyard home garden and bee farming, eco-printing development
and business entrepreneurship.
❖ New local products developed and marketed: Traditional health drink, Lemon glass, Ginger powder JELES,
dried Rosella flower bud, Coffee Pertaguhan (beans, ground), Pineapple dodol, Honey and honey value
added products (Mint Honey Candy, Bathing Soap Plus Honey, and Way Clean Lime-Honey dish soap), as
well as upscaling of value added products of banana chips making
❖ Increased visibility of ecotourism destinations of WKNP through availability of WKNP ecotourism website.
❖ Reduction of illegal grass grazing and grass cutting in WKNP through alternative livestock interventions.
❖ Improved capacity of cooperatives’ members in cooperative administration and financial management.
❖ Improved new income generation skills of target villages through livelihood interventions such as
developing value added products of honey and fish products, fish feed, livestock feed, new ecotourism
products.
❖ Improved ecotourism (bird watching) facilities and visibility of new ecotourism destination of WKNP.

10. CHALLENGES / OPPORTUNITIES
• Collaborative management is both a challenge and an opportunity
• Top-down approaches that have been practiced for so long will take time to be reversed,
or at least accommodate the participation and collaboration of all stakeholders
• It poses a range of possibilities in exploring new partnerships, new approaches and
models to sustainable development
• Complex processes in grant administration, government regulations,
coordination and feedback mechanisms
• Project duration is deemed short to fully realize and achieve results (for small
grants, 12-14 months; for microgrants, 6-8 months)
• Establishing relationships for sustainability and future endeavors (marketing
partnerships, institutionalization, policy) becomes a challenge especially for
local organizations who do not normally factor these in their operations

11. RECOMMENDATIONS / LESSONS LEARNED
• Local communities are interested in managing biodiversity resources once they perceive a
direct economic benefit from doing so
• The recognition and appreciation of local communities, market and trade actors, and local authorities, of the
value of biodiversity-based products are heightened when they are made aware of how biodiversity conservation
and management leads to economic benefits
• Linking producers to private sector was a key factor making value chains successful
• Involving all relevant local Government agencies helped to clarify rights and responsibilities of
communities to manage biodiversity resources in a sustainable manner
• Facilitating learning and exchange processes helped stakeholders overcome initial hurdles in
production, processing, conservation and institutional growth
• Anchoring the origins of a product with stories of its source, its environment and the culture
attached to it provides a strong identity, advocacy for conservation, and a marketing
promotion that will not lead to exploitation
• New and emerging market models are exciting (e-commerce, social media marketing, use of
cyber currency, etc), but would need to be adaptable to realities at the local level

12. Terimah Kasih!
Maraming Salamat!