Anwar Urges ASEAN To Protect Biodiversity From External Exploitation

From Linda Khoo Hui Li and Nabilah Saleh

MANILA, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged ASEAN to protect its biodiversity from external exploitation and misappropriation.

He described the protection of the region’s biodiversity as a matter of regional sovereignty.

In his intervention at the plenary session of the 49th ASEAN Summit here, Anwar said the region’s ecosystems, genetic resources and wildlife underpin food and water security, livelihoods, climate resilience and sustainable economic development.

“We, therefore, have a responsibility to strengthen regional governance, ensure the sustainable and equitable use of our biodiversity resources, and safeguard them against external exploitation and misappropriation.

“Protecting ASEAN’s biodiversity is not merely an environmental imperative, but also a matter of regional sovereignty,” he said.

On transboundary haze, Anwar said Malaysia had put forward proposals on science diplomacy and a sustainable haze fund through the Subregional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution (MSC).

“These are aimed at strengthening scientific cooperation, enhancing evidence-based decision-making and ensuring more sustainable financial support for the implementation of the AATHP,” he said, referring to the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

He said Malaysia would seek to advance the proposals at the agreement’s Conference of the Parties in December and during its chairmanship of the MSC in 2027.

-- BERNAMA