Overview

Background

The lack of trained human resources and the inadequate capacity in taxonomy have been stressed as obstacles to the implementation of CBD commitments, especially in the ASEAN region. The dynamic growth of the ASEAN + 3 countries in recent years has increased the pressure on their natural resources.? Human activities, the driving force behind this regional growth, threaten biological resources. The lack of scientific information on biodiversity in this region is a crucial issue in the assessment and prediction of biodiversity changes, caused mainly by the lack of taxonomic capacity in data collection and analysis.
To address this shortfall, ESABII organizes workshops for taxonomic capacity building for young researchers and officials involved in biodiversity conservation.

Training courses

Training Courses on CITES Policies and Identification of Species Commonly Found in Trade (Myanmar)
Training Course on Freshwater/Brackish-water Fish Taxonomy
Training Workshop on Taxonomy of Terrestrial Plants (Monocots)
Training Courses on CITES Policies and Identification of Species Commonly Found in Trade (Cambodia)
Training Course on CITES Policies and Identification of Reptile Species Commonly Found in Trade (Viet Nam)
Training Workshop on Taxonomy of Terrestrial Plants (Dicots)
Training of Trainers (ToT) on CITES Policies and Identification of Threatened Species
Training Workshop on Coral Taxonomy

Development of tools

ESABII develops and disseminates products for taxonomic capacity building such as guides for species identification.

Training Manual

Training Manuals are published as products of Training Workshops. These manuals have been prepared based on the notes of lectures presented by the trainers during the workshops. They provide the methodology for sampling specimens and identifying the features of the target taxon.

Training Manual on Corals Taxonomy in Southeast Asia [PDF:12MB]

Training Manual on Plant Taxonomy (Dicots) in Southeast Asia [PDF:14MB]

Species Identification sheets

Identification sheets have been created that provide the information required to identify individual species, including most of those listed in the CITES Appendices that are frequently traded in Southeast Asia. These manuals have been translated into the languages of the ASEAN countries as well as Japanese and Chinese, and distributed to customs and other relevant agencies in the 10 ASEAN countries, Japan and China.