The terms, known as the ‘Partnership Document’, will guide APAP’s future activities and growth as a leading network promoting regional collaboration, best practices and innovative solutions in protected areas in Asia.
The constitution, adopted at the APAP Regional Steering Committee (RSC) meeting in Bangkok in July, sets out a vision for the partnership and a set of priority program areas. The activities APAP organizes to achieve its objectives include knowledge-sharing and capacity-building events, cross-border projects, awareness-raising and advocacy.
“The partnership document has been under discussion for nearly two years and its adoption is a major milestone in APAP’s development. We now have an agreed constitution that specifies APAP’s objectives, its governance structure and its membership criteria. “There is,” he said. Dr Scott Parkin, Head of the Natural Resources Group, IUCN Regional Office for Asia. “The partnership document provides clear guidance for APAP’s future direction and a solid foundation for future growth.”
In terms of brand identity, the partnership finalized its logo in August after a four-month process that included several concept designs, member feedback, editing, voting and approval from the partnership office. Using an online voting system, members voted for their favorite logo from among four designs. The democratically chosen emblem features flowing green and blue lines, representing both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Ambassador Masahiko Horie, IUCN Regional Councilor for South and East Asia and Ambassador for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “This logo captures the essence of partnership in a visually appealing and powerfully symbolic way. I’m very excited.” Circumstances, Japan. “I believe it will play an important role in establishing APAP’s identity and corporate image.”
In another significant development, APAP’s membership has nearly doubled from seven members in mid-2015 to a total of 13 members as of October this year. The newest members include India’s Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Sri Lanka’s Forest Department, Mahaweli Ministry of Development and Environment, which joined the partnership in July and September, respectively.
Both agencies bring an incredible wealth of protected area experience to APAP. For example, India is a world leader in tiger conservation and the Sri Lanka Forest Department is one of the oldest forest departments in the world. With the addition of these two new members, almost every country in South Asia now joins the partnership. Over the next year, APAP will continue to grow and aim to encourage more countries across Asia to join.
Plans are also being finalized for APAP’s next training event, a workshop on visitor management and invasive alien species management to be held at Mt. Fuji National Park in Japan. Both topics are issues of increasing interest to protected area managers across Asia. This workshop will introduce Japan’s approach to these challenges and provide a forum to share practical experiences in the region.
A number of other countries, including Bhutan and India, have expressed interest in hosting training and knowledge-sharing events. “We are pleased that more and more countries are coming forward to host APAP events and that this partnership is beginning to fulfill its potential as a regional platform for capacity building and experience sharing,” said Dr. Parkin. .
The Asia Protected Areas Partnership is designed as an important platform to help governments and other stakeholders work together to more effectively manage protected areas in the region. The partnership began at the first Asian Parks Congress in Japan in 2013 and was officially launched the following year at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Australia. It is chaired by IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and co-chaired by a rotating group of his APAP affiliates, including Japan’s Ministry of the Environment.
