Transboundary issues, especially relating to management of protected areas that straddle two or more economies and the growing illegal trade of plants and animals, are of particular concern in the effective management of conservation areas. In Asia, there are over 45 transboundary protected areas with an estimated area of over 570 500 km2. Notwithstanding their ecological contiguity across national boundaries, divergences in policies, laws and institutional arrangements undermine their management as an ecological unit. 

The Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet) organized a workshop Biodiversity Conservation Challenges in the Asia-Pacific: the Trans-Boundary and Livelihood Dimensions in Chiang Mai, Thailand (1-13 November 2015), in collaboration with the Royal Forestry Department of Thailand. The international workshop was attended by participants from Bangladesh, China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Peru, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. 

The workshop was designed to comprise three major modules in terms of an overview of global and national efforts on biodiversity conservation, the transboundary dimension, and biodiversity conservation and rural livelihood improvement. It provided a significant platform for in-depth understanding of biological diversity conservation along with fulfilment of local livelihood needs, how policy, legal and institutional framework help to strengthen the efficiency of existing mechanisms, the issues and challenges related to illegal trade of animals and plants.

The workshop was organised with the following format: thematic lectures, presentations by the participants, group discussion, preparation of policy briefs, and field visits. Three significant presentations on transboundary conservation were given by Dr Rahimatsah Amat (WCPA Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group’s (TBC SG) Regional Coordinator for Asia,) and Prof Dr Yongyut Trisurat (TBC SG Member from Kasetsart University in Bangkok). Dr Amat provided an overview of transboundary conservation and governance, while Prof Dr Trisurat focused on transboundary cooperation between Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in the Emerald Triangle Protected Forest Complex. All presentation are available here.

More information: http://apfnet.cn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=733&catid=10&Itemid=132