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Abstract
ASEAN is host to seven of the world’s 25 biodiversity
hotspots. Failure of governments and their
peoples to protect and conserve the region’s rich
biodiversity is one of the greatest threats to the
over 500 million people of ASEAN. As in other
areas of the developing world, biodiversity conservation
demands a delicate balance between
development and conservation. The region’s rich
biodiversity is inextricably linked to the livelihood
of its people; about 65% of its population is dependent
on its agricultural sector. The sector is a
prime contributor to food security, employment,
income generation and overall prosperity of the
region. The linkage between biodiversity and
agriculture is further emphasised as a result of
global conventions and agreements that deal with
the threats posed by invasive alien species to
natural and agro-environments and issues of
environmental sustainability.
Biosecurity, together with biosafety, proposes a
strategic and integrated approach that encompasses
policy and regulatory frameworks for
analysing and managing relevant risks to human,
animal and plant life and health, and associated
risks to the environment. The concept of managing
these risks in a holistic manner has, however,
not yet been fully embraced by developing countries,
where biosecurity continues to be managed
on a sector basis, often with separate policy and
legislative frameworks. The migration towards a
more harmonised and integrated approach, with
the different sectors and components of biosecurity
working towards common goals to take
advantage of the available synergies and complementarities
is often plagued by difficulties in
cross-institutional cooperation and commitment,
and agreement on sharing of limiting human
capacity and resources.