With both local and international participants, the Biodiversity-Based Economy Development (BEDO) Exhibition and Conference, or BEDO EXPO 2018, was held from 10 to 14 September 2018, at the Government Complex in Bangkok, Thailand. Carrying the theme, "Biodiversity-Based Economy for Future", the first part of the week-long event was a three-day exhibition which highlighted the local products sourced and developed in the various communities in Thailand along with several products from other ASEAN Member States.
The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) was one of the exhibitors in the event. The ACB booth featured the products from the communities in the project sites of the “Biodiversity-based Products (BBP) as an Economic Source for the Improvement of Livelihoods and Biodiversity Protection", a project funded by the Federal Republic of Germany in coordination with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the GFA Consulting Group with ACB. Bamboo handicrafts from the villages in the Nam Ha National Protected Area in Lao PDR; medicinal bath herbs and Giao Co Lam from the communities in the buffer zones of the Hoang Lien National Park in Viet Nam; and honey from the beekeepers in Ba Be National Park in Viet Nam were the main pieces in the exhibit.
According to Ms. Chularat Niratisayakul, Director General of BEDO, “We believe that the participants from Thailand can gain knowledge and experience from the ASEAN viewpoint and expect to create opportunities to exchange valuable knowledge on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, enhance the long-term well-being of the local communities including expanding to regional activities and strengthening the network of the region in the future.”
The second part of BEDO EXPO 2018 was The Fourth Thailand Biodiversity BioBank Conference: 2018 International Forum on Community BioBank: Thailand Initiatives.
