The Governments of the Member States of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): RECALLING the ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks and Reserves signed by Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand on 29 November 1984; RECOGNIZING that Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam have since joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; CONCERNED with the necessity to conserve national protected areas of the ASEAN member countries; AWARE of the uniqueness, diversity and outstanding values of certain national protected areas of ASEAN member countries, that deserve the highest recognition so that their importance as conservation areas could be appreciated regionally and internationally; NOTING that the Convention on Biological Diversity provides for in-situ conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats as a fundamental requirement for the conservation of biological diversity and thereby encourages the establishment of a system of protected areas to achieve this end; FURTHER NOTING that the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 has, among others, set a target of reducing the current rate of loss of biological diversity by 2010 through among others, promoting concrete international support and partnership for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, including ecosystems, at World Heritage sites; and effective conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, promoting and supporting initiatives for hot spot areas and other areas essential for biodiversity and promoting the development of national and regional ecological networks and corridors; RECOGNIZING that conservation areas should be managed to maintain ecological processes and life support systems, preserve genetic diversity; ensure sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems; and maintain wilderness that are of scenic, cultural, educational, research, recreational and tourism values; CONSIDERING that to achieve the aims, purpose and objectives of the national protected areas of the ASEAN member countries, a master plan should be drawn for each heritage park which shall include but not be limited to management guidelines, research on structure and function of ecosystems and education on wilderness values; FURTHER CONSIDERING that environmental concerns transcend national boundaries and that individual states are primarily responsible for their respective identified heritage sites; DO HEREBY DECLARE the national protected areas listed in Appendix I as ASEAN Heritage Parks. The list of ASEAN Heritage Parks may be amended from time to time by written notification from the member country concerned to the ASEAN Secretariat based on a set of criteria developed by the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment; and AGREE that common cooperation is necessary to conserve and manage ASEAN Heritage Parks for the development and implementation of regional conservation and management action plans as well as regional mechanisms complementary to and supportive of national efforts to implement conservation measures. The 1984 ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks and Reserves is hereby terminated. DONE in Yangon, Myanmar, this eighteenth day of December in the year two thousand and three.