YEREVAN, ARMENIA – As the 17th UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) officially opens today in Yerevan, over 30 civil society organizations from Southeast Asia and across the globe issued an urgent open letter calling on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States to accelerate concrete action to protect biodiversity and deliver on their commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
CBD COP17 represents a pivotal moment for world leaders to evaluate global progress under the KMGBF, which outlines 23 action targets for 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Central to these is Target 3 – the “30×30” goal – which commits parties to effectively conserve and manage at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas. As Parties to the CBD, all ASEAN Member States share a responsibility to align with these global goals. However, civil society groups warn that accelerating industrial pressures threaten the region’s irreplaceable biodiversity.
“Southeast Asia harbors extraordinary marine and terrestrial life, including megadiverse countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. However, the massive expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure directly undermines biodiversity targets. Genuine progress on 30×30 requires safeguarding the vital ecosystems that sustain food security, local livelihoods, and climate resilience,” said Anj Dacanay, lead campaigner of Energy Shift Southeast Asia.
The region is home to the Coral Triangle, the global epicenter of marine biodiversity, along with critical marine corridors like the Verde Island Passage, Palawan, Sulu-Sulawesi Ecoregion. Yet these ecological strongholds face unprecedented risks from rapid offshore oil and gas exploration, gas power development, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion. A report reveals that oil and gas blocks already overlap with 24% of coral reefs, 37% of mangroves, and 22% of seagrass habitats across the Coral Triangle.
While global collective action has been taken, efforts still fall significantly short of what is required to meet 2030 targets, as highlighted in the global report on the progress of KMGBF. The report highlights the need for stronger implementation, coordinated action and increased ambition to translate global commitments into tangible outcomes for nature.
In the open letter, groups demand that ASEAN Member States accelerate concrete actions to deliver 30×30 by taking decisive shifts towards a people-centred agenda for biodiversity protection, restoration, and recovery that safeguard human rights and local livelihoods, recognize the destructive role of fossil fuels, industrial food systems and extractive industries in endangering both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and declare critical biodiversity and wildlife areas as no go zones for fossil fuels and other destructive activities.
This collective call to action is led by Southeast Asia and international organizations, including Energy Shift Southeast Asia, the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, Protect Verde Island Passage, RimbaWatch, Fossil Free Thailand, KRuHA (People’s Coalition for the Right to Water – Indonesia), Don’t Gas Indonesia, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Trend Asia, and The Artivist Network.