LOS BANOS, Laguna—Southeast Asia holds more diverse flora and fauna than Europe, but it is in danger of losing its biodiversity, Ambassador of the European Commission to the Philippines Alistair MacDonald said Tuesday.

"Southeast Asia (has) natural habitats of up to 40 percent of all species existing on the planet. The range of ASEAN biodiversity is astonishing,” said MacDonald during the Ambassadors' Day at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) here.

“A single small tropical-forest patch anywhere in this region, covering just a couple of hundred hectares, might support more bird and mammal species than there are in the whole of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany combined," said the ambassador, a self-avowed birdwatcher.

MacDonald said the region's continued biodiversity loss is due to extensive deforestation and habitat loss, widespread conversion of land for agriculture or urban and industrial development, and the continuing rapid population growth.

"The flora and fauna of the region are increasingly under threat. Annually, ASEAN loses one percent of its forest cover, a figure four times higher than the world average. There are more than 150 endangered species in the Philippines alone," he said.

The establishment of the ACB, which is tasked to facilitate coordination and capacity building on policy, strategy, and action concerning biodiversity in the region, was helped in large part by a four-year grant worth Є6 million (about P400 million) from the
European Union in 2005.

And while MacDonald praised the center for its achievements in the region, he is worried about its sustainability after the EU assistance is used by at the end of 2009.

He said the Establishment Agreement of the ACB has not yet come into force because only three countries, instead of the minimum six, have so far ratified it -- Brunei, Philippines, and Vietnam.

"Without ratification, the legal existence of the ACB as an organization remains in question. And without ratification, it seems to be difficult for some countries to make their necessary financial contributions to the work of ACB," he said.

MacDonald said that except for the Philippines, the other ASEAN countries have not stepped up to the plate and have not covered the Є1.3 million that ASEAN committed to put into the center when EU did.

"The EC's financing agreement with ASEAN foresees a total budget of Є7.3 million over the four years of our support -- Є6 million from the EC budget, Є1.3 million which ASEAN countries agreed to provide. And with one outstanding exception, the ASEAN member countries have as yet done very little to live up to this commitment," he said.

"The exception is of course the Philippines, which has made substantial contributions to the ACB, fully in line with their commitments, and for which I would like to express my thanks to (Environment) Secretary (Lito) Atienza and his colleagues," he added.

He said that without the completion of the ratification of the Establishment Agreement, which would ensure funding for the center, the ACB's sustainability in the medium and long term is not assured.

MacDonald said ASEAN's positive action to ensure the sustainability of ACB would be duly noted by EU.

"I might add that the willingness of ASEAN member-countries to fully support the work of an agreed ASEAN institution…will also be a gauge of ASEAN's willingness to help itself, and one which will be noted by ASEAN's dialogue partners," he said.

MacDonald thus urged the 10 ASEAN member-countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- to work for the speedy ratification of the Establishment Agreement and to ensure that the necessary financial resources are made available.

To his colleagues in the EU, the ambassador also appealed to continue their support for biodiversity in Southeast Asia.

"Encourage your governments and your universities to build up an enhanced cooperation with the ACB -- perhaps through research cooperation, perhaps through study visits or exchanges, or in whatever other fashion may be most appropriate," he said.

"If the rich biodiversity of ASEAN continues to diminish at current rates, the world will be a much greyer place -- and if the world's biodiversity is at threat, the world risks to become a dead place," he said.