ASEAN launches 10-year plan to strengthen Heritage Park management across Southeast Asia

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity launched the AHP Regional Action Plan 2026-2035 to improve conservation of natural parks across member states. The roadmap addresses sustainable financing, ecosystem restoration, and regional cooperation for th

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) launched a ten-year strategic roadmap to improve the management, protection, and conservation of natural parks across member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHPs).

The framework, named the AHP Regional Action Plan 2026-2035, provides a shared regional plan to improve ecosystem representation in Southeast Asia and ensure that AHPs are managed, protected, and conserved effectively through stronger management capacities, ecosystem restoration, sustainable financing, partnerships, and regional cooperation.

During a briefing at the ASEAN Heritage Parks Forum 2026 on 8 Sep, ACB Executive Director Jerome L. Montemayor said the roadmap would address questions on how to further enhance conservation and restoration of protected areas in the region, including the Philippines.

The DENR and the ACB will also launch the Philippine ASEAN Heritage Parks Network, which aims to strengthen collaboration among AHPs in the Philippines and their contribution to the implementation of biodiversity commitments such as the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

In his keynote address at the forum, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna said that the network will bring together the managers and representatives of the country’s AHPs while also providing a space for protected areas that are pursuing AHP nomination to learn from those who have already walked the path. “Through the network, we hope to create a stronger bridge between the individual experiences and our collective commitments, connecting park managers to one another, connecting national priorities with regional cooperation, and connecting the work we do on the ground with the broader global agenda for biodiversity and sustainable development,” Mr. Cuna said.

AHPs comprise 69 national parks and natural reserves across Southeast Asia, 14 of which are in the Philippines, with two new parks set to be added in the future, one located in Cambodia and another in the Philippines.