Minutes of tlje-Meeting 5* Protect Wildlife PrtjjeefSte^rin^ Committee Meeting

Agenda:

1.Briefing of overall proj ect status and of deliverables 2.Report on technical assistance to DENR Central Office 3.Regional closeout activities 4.Other matters.

Highlights of the Meeting:

1.The 5^ PSC Meeting of the USAID-Protect Wildlife Project was held on 27 August 2020 from 10:00AM-4:00PM;

2.Thirty-three (33) members/representatives of the Project Steering Committee and Technical Working Group attended the 5th PSC Meeting (Annex A); and

3.The Meeting was chaired by Assistant Secretary Ricardo L. Calderon, concurrent Director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau and Chairperson of the Protect Wildlife Project Steering Committee Meeting.

Summary of Presentations:

4.Ms. Rebecca Paz, Chief of Party of the USAID-Protect Wildlife Project presented the key outputs and outcomes of the Project, to wit:

Result 1: Conservation planning and management competencies improved

•6 project areas and 2 other conservation areas have approved management plans •6 LGUs have approved forest land use plans •627,904 hectares are covered by approved management plans •185 LGU staff and 1498 community members have been trained on integrated conservation and development

Result 2: Enforcement capacity improved

•more than 800 enforcement actions have been reported by enforcement partners who have been provided training, tools and other forms of technical assistance •positive feedback from a significant number of trained staff on the adoption of improved practices •1,458 government staff have been trained •80 LGU staff and 367 community members have been deputized/certified as WEOs, Bantay Dagat, and Bantay Kalikasan •7 national policies and 41 local policies, with inputs from the project, have been adopted or submitted for adoption

Result 3: Conservation financing sources diversified

•more than PhP 400 M have been mobilized or leveraged •more than PhP 30 M of revenues or contributions have been generated •143 LGUs, water utilities and other establishments have manifested interest to participate in the PES initiative •2 provinces (Palawan and South Cotabato) are finalizing their provincial PES ordinancesH •2 LGU PES schemes with revenue generation have reinvestment plans for watershed rehabilitation

Result 4: Knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards conservation improved

i ' •24 site-based behavior campaigns have been launched; most of them are led by graduates of Campaigning for Conservation or social marketing for behavior course/training •The Wild and Alive campaign launched in NAIA terminals in 2018 was replicated in 2019 at the Puerto Princesa airport, which reached at least 24,204 individuals in less than 3 months •Wild and Alive social media campaign by DENR Region 3 with 203,400 individuals reached in one month •10 colleges and universities from project sites, which have integrated wildlife and environmental conservation concerns into existing curricula

Result 5: Improved economic benefits derived from sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity conservation

•almost 58,000 persons are deriving direct and indirect benefits from NRM and conservation efforts of the project a.Ecosystem services, mainly access to water b.Agroforestry c.Improved livelihoods and micro-enterprises d.Employment and other benefits •19 micro-enterprise are being assisted under the Women's Global Development and Prpsperity (WGDP) Initiative of the USAID •more than 500 women have been reached and will be empowered

Issues/Concerns Discussions/Agreements Reached Hiring of forest guards • ASEC Calderon informed the Committee that Natural Park is currently facing a problem wherein 77 Bantay Gubat security guards veip Jaid off due to loss of revenue caused y^G

• ASEC Calderon requested FMB to co-share on the proposal to be submitted by RED Rodriguez. • Management of travelling • The travelling exhibit which is called museum after the Project "Connected to the Wild" will be managed by ends the Mind Museum. The PW had already made an arrangement with the Mind Museum to prioritize some of the key cities that have already been included in Protect Wildlife field sites • The exhibit is quite large comprising several container vans. Given the sheer size, the exhibit can only travel to large cities, specifically in malls. • Sustainability on the • The Project does not provide financial efforts/assistance assistance to the POs. The support was focused extended by the Project to in giving trainings and providing equipment the livelihood of the POs such as the spindle stripping machines which were distributed to the abaca producing POs. • PW to provide the list of POs to FMB as member of the Steering Committee and also handling PO and BMB to submit the list to the concerned DENR Regional Office/s for their monitoring activities • How does the protection • All campaigns done by the Project, specifically campaign translate versus the "Wild and Alive", were came from the data on illegal trade? enforcement data. It ensures that the campaign being developed are evidence-based. The species that were featured are the commonly traded or commonly trafficked wildlife species. • The PW is closely working with the BMB- Wildlife Resources Division to choose the species and make sure the messaging is on point. In case of DENR-Region 3, the Office is receiving more reports about surrendering, trafficked animals and other wildlife crimes as part of the facebook campaign. 5. Mr. Wilbur Dee, USAID Protect Wildlife Project presented the status of technical assistance to DENR-FMB, to wit:

Eleven Technical Assistance Areas to FMB

•Carbon Accounting, Verification, and Certification System (CAVCS) CAVCS Outputs (all in Draft form) A.Manual I - CAVCS for Forest Carbon Projects in the : Introduction and How to apply) B.Manual II - Steps in Forest Carbon, Accounting, Monitoring, and Reporting C.Manual III - Carbon Stock Assessment: Inventory Methodology D.Validation and Verification Guideline — to be reviewed by the Philippine Accreditation Bureau E.Simplified FCPP Template F.Simplified FCAR Template G.Draft DAOs (CAVCS and Carbon Sink)

•Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Guideline

PES Initiative in Bataan and Inputs to the PES Policy of DENR

A.Completed PES Activities in Mariveles, Bataan and Bagac, Bataan

a.Completed the cost and revenue analysis of 9 water utilities and resorts in Bagac as basis on Willingness To Pay (WTP) and PES rate negotiation b.Cost Valuation of water in Bagac, Bataan based on the 10-year cost restoring the watershed

B.Working with the FMB TWG in incorporating in the draft policy the experiences and lessons in PES of Protect Wildlife

•Pilot on Value Chain for the National Greening Program (NGP)

NGP Value Chain Assessment in Bagac, Bataan - consultation workshop (April 2020) in two NGP sites in Bataan - cashew plantings of CBFMA holder in forestlands and a completed PO contract on coffee plantation in the MUZ of Bataan National Park

•Enhancing FLUP integration in the CLWUP - recommendations for enhancing the current guide on land use planning in forestlands, protected areas and ancestral domains as part of LGU CLUP • Development of Training Modules for NGP Trainors and Extension Officers, Training Materials and Conduct of Pilot Training - refine activity program and materials (September 10,2020)

A.Formulate Trainer's Handbook (to serve as guide for pre, during and post- training) B.Finalize program based on FMB approval of sequence of topics C.Finalize training materials (including possible alternatives to ppt) D.Conduct virtual pilot training

SMART NGP Module/Tool-TOR and Design Thinking Workshop

A.Drafting the Terms of Reference for the service provider B.Assistance in designing a Design Thinking Workshop (2nd week of September 2020) C.Assistance in developing the protocol in monitoring the outputs of the service provider D.Supervise progress of the service provider E.Integrating NGP, Lawin and BMS

Policy on Almaciga Resin Tapping

A.Feedback from Palawan stakeholders (as of July 2, 2020), IPs, tappers, CSO, LGUNCIP,etc. B.Inputs from BMB TRC (August 13,2020) C.Revised draft (August 20,2020) D.Presentation to FMB Execom of the revised draft E.Joint review by BMB and FMB of revised draft

Forest and Grassland Fire Suppression and Management A.There is still no clear plan to institutionalize and formalize in-house trainings for DENR field officers B.Manual on the Prevention, Suppression and Management of Forest and Grass Fires: C.Update and incorporate all training designs of the DENR and the FMB on fighting forest fires D.Formal adoption of the manual to institutionalize forest fire management and capacity building for field officers and partner communities E.Manual is being developed by Protect Wildlife (coordination with US Forest Service) F.Manual will focus on Incident Command System as a preparatory activity prior to the transition of the ground commander to the BFP G.Selected DENR staff will participate in a Training of Trainers program in November who will roll out the manual - maybe online, it will still depend on the situation on or before November

Drone Training: Image Processing and Analysis A.Protect Wildlife designed a training program that transforms Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) image data into spatial data products (forestry application) B.Online training in Regions to include drone deployment C.To be conducted in 5 weeks, Vi day session, and 1-2 days face-to-face training (if possible)

•Equipment Support for the FMB's Satellite Land Monitoring Laboratory for Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL)

A.To enable FMB to process percentage tree cover maps data B.Laboratory will host the storage, analysis and remote sensing data to develop the nationally-calibrated forest maps C.Expected in September 2020

Trainings: Regions 3 and 9 in mid-August to mid-September, Regions 4B and 12 in mid-September to mid-October

•Support to the SFM Bill (FMB, FAO, USAID and SFFI) A.Conduct of3-level SWOT analysis B.Review the draft and incorporate recommendations (annotations)

Issues/Concerns Discussions/Agreements Reached > Assistance of Project in • The Project is working with the Mind Museum designing a scale down to develop a lighter, smaller scale type of interpretative materials material. They are considering to develop a similar with Mind film-type version of the exhibit similar with the Museum Mind Museum. The exhibit is a little bit more agile, especially for sites who will not have the large space for this type of interactive exhibit > CAVCS • Suggested to include the monitoring and measurement of carbon in forest lands including the NGP sites in CAVCS

6. Atty. Edward Lorenzo, USAID-Protect Wildlife Project presented the status of technical assistance to the DENR-BMB and other partners, to wit:

Policy Amendments: -DENR Memorandum Order No. 7 Series of 1993 (Guidelines on the Selection and Conservation of Candidate Flagship Species -DENR Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 1993 (Guidelines for the Adoption of Integrated Protected Areas System General Management Planning Strategy)

Research Support for Enforcement Policy Development -Wildlife From Forest to Cages: An Analysis of Wildlife Seizures in the Philippines -CAPTURED Research

Systems and Tools -Proposed Joint FMB-BMB Technical Bulletin on Data Harmonization and Resource Management -Integration of LA WIN and BMS Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool -Improving Wildlife Care and Handling for the NWRRC -WildBASE: WRC Status Database -WildALERT

Issues/Concerns Discussions/Agreements Reached > BRAIN System • Continuous updating and improvements are being done on the BRAIN system. • Most recent versions of the zones from the PAs, FLUPs were used in the zoning classifications. • DENR maps as well as ECAN zones from PCSD were used in the component • The BRAIN system will be rolled-out by PCSD to the other law enforcement agencies through PALAWEN, the Wildlife Enforcement Network > Guidelines on the • Relative to the proposed amendments to DENR identification of flagship Memorandum Order No. 7 Series of 1993 species (Guidelines on the Selection and Conservation of Candidate Flagship Species and DENR Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 1993 (Guidelines for the Adoption of Integrated Protected Areas System General Management Planning Strategy), RED Ferrer inquired if the proposed revisions include guidelines on the management of indicator species in PAs that were identified during the conduct of Protected Area Suitability Assessment (PASA). She also mentioned that if the species identified since the time the PA was proclaimed was not properly maintained up to present, it invalidates the essence on the proclamation of PA. • Mr. Dee responded that the two policies were amended to highlight the management of indicator species from the flagship species specified in the Wildlife Act. He also informed that indicator species measures the health condition of the habitat. > Issuance of Technical • RED Ferrer reminded to be wary on the Bulletins issuance of Technical Bulletins. The technical bulletins only provide guidelines on how to implement an Administrative Order. • ASEC Calderon supplemented that Technical Bulletin only answers the question "how or how to". It guides the Region on how to implement certain policy. He also mentioned that BMB is requesting for a meeting with the DENR-Policy to present the list of policies that should be elevated into full Administrative Order or Memorandum Circular.

7. Ms. Evangeline Miclat of USAID Protect Wildlife informed the Meeting of the following updates relative to the biodiversity conservation research of the PWP. She mentioned that 27 researches were implemented under the project, to wit:

Priority Species - in Pasonanca Natural Park, -Pangolin in Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range, Palawan -Sulu hornbill in Upper Malum Watershed, Tawi-Tawi -Tarsier in Mount Matutum Protected Landscape, South Cotabato -Philippine Teak in Batangas and Mindoro

Economically Important Species -Seaweeds, Tawi-Tawi -Red lapu, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi -Sea cucumber, Palawan

Species of interest to conservation and medical field -Folklore-claimed medicinal plants, Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape, South Cotabato -Cryptic diversity of Philippine pit vipers, Luzon Biogeographic Region

Ecosystems -Capisaan Cave System, Nueva Vizcaya: recreational value, sensitivity & disturbance -Eleven Islands, Zamboanga: coastal resource assessment for MPA establishment -Burias, Glan, Sarangani: biodiversity assessment for development of learning packages

Student presentations -1" Digital Biodiversity Forum, 22-23 August 2020 -Native metallophytes, Zambales -Rqfflesia spp., Luzon, Visayas, -Red lapu, Sulu Sea system -Marine biodiversity of Burias, Sarangani -Warty pigs, Davao -Philippine brown deer, Davao

Presentation Results

• Presence & Abundance of Palawan Pangolin in Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range Implementere: Katala Foundation, Inc. and PCSD Sites: Narra, Aboarlan, Quezon and PPC

Components: Sub-study 1: Local knowledge on pangolin (by Palawan State University) Sub-study 2: Indicative presence & abundance of pangolin, habitat characterization Sub-study 3: Indicative population of pangolin

Recommendations: -Further study and monitoring over time -Feedback results to stakeholders -Conservation measures and law enforcement in areas of occurrence -Appropriate conservation tools in ancestral domain -Review/re-assess conservation status of threatened Palawan wildlife

Opportunities: -Creation of Sub-Committee on Pangolin Conservation and Management under PCSD's Environment and Natural Resources Committee -Development of 25-year Action Plan for Conservation and Management of Palawan Pangolin and its adoption at the 265th Regular Meeting of PCSD, 27 February 2020

Research & Conservation of Philippine Eagles in Pasonanca Natural Park (PaNP) Implementer: Philippine Eagle Foundation Research focus: determine if PaNP is a nesting habitat of Philippine eagle

Objectives: -Locate/delineate nesting sites and undertake behavioral observation -Tag and monitor -Increase competence of partners

Breakthroughs hi research -PaNP established as a nesting site contrary to speculation it was s foraging site 1"* Philippine eagle nest recorded in PaNP; 3rd in the whole Zamboanga Peninsula 1 -month old eaglet documented -Confirmed resident eagle pair, exhibiting courtship behavior -Identified bagtikan tree (Parashorea malaanonan) as nesting tree

Research Capacity Partnership -PaNP PAMB Meeting, 9 August 2020 Chaired by DENR RED approved the resolution declaring the Philippine eagle and Zamboanga as Flagship species in Pasonanca Natural Park

Issues/Concerns Discussions/Agreements Reached > Pangolin research • In relation to the presentation of results on pangolin research, Dr. Simplicia Pasicolan of the Ecosystems Research Development Bureau commented that the methods used in the research should have considered the two (2) types of pangolin, i.e. arboreal and burrowing to avoid the low detection rate of the species. She also noted in the presentation that the camera traps used in the research were only placed near the ground. It did not consider the arboreal pangolins. Ms. Levita Lagrada, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) responded that camera trapping is only one of the methods used by the researchers. Aside from camera trappings, the researchers also used actual survey, chained dogs and coordinated with the IPs and guides who knows the route of the pangolins. As regards to the pangolin poaching, Atty. Lorenzo shared that enforcement study on wildlife seizures shows that pangolins were extorted for their scales and meat and were transported to Manila. Pangolins are also being sold to high rollers in Binondo area as well as some rollers from areas with big casinos. The Philippines is also a trans-shipment point from other countries for the pangolin trade. Is there any follow up study about pangolin Studies on pangolin is also part of the research considering that pangolin conducted by Katala Foundation Incorporated is suspected to be a vector although it's not their flagship species. oftheCOVID19virus? Pangolin trade is also part in CAPTURED (concealable,available,processable, transferrable, useable, removable, enjoyable, and desirable) research. It includes interview with the people who are directly involved with illegal trade. The Zoological Society of London has a UK- fiinded pangolin project in Palawan. The study will be focused on local knowledge. Increasing awareness and appreciation for the Palawan pangolin and its potential role in zoonosis may be a catalyst for more research even after the Project > Research on folklore- The studies were conducted thru the issuance of claimed medicinal Gratuitous Permit from concerned DENR- plants and Burias Glan Regional Office. Assessment The Project was reminded on the terminal report to be submitted by the researchers to the concerned DENR Regional Office for their information and monitoring purposes

8. Regional Project Closeout Activities, was discussed by Mr. Joey Manfredo and Lawrence San Diego, Protect Wildlife Project, as follows: Field Site Closeout - September 1 to November 30 Core tasks include:

o Completion of all activities and comprehensive handover to partners o Facilitation of closeout events (emphasis on small scale events and online venues) o Disposition of Assets (With USAID approval)

Date Activity September - Closeout of Zamboanga City/Sulu & Region 3 Offices effective September 30 - Disposition of Assets - Closeout Events and Reports

October - Final Activity surge in Palawan and Region 12

November - Closeout of Region 12 Office effective November 30 - Disposition of Assets - Closeout Events and Reports

Project Headquarters Closeout - December 1,2020 to March 31,2021

- Core tasks include: o Completion of all activities and comprehensive handover to partners, including all knowledge products o Facilitation of closeout events (emphasis on small scale events and online venues) o Disposition of Assets (with USAID approval) o Issuing final project report to USAID

Date Activity December - Finalize reporting for all SA activities - Preparation of final proj ect report - Complete all knowledge products

January - Submit draft final report to USAID - Complete any remaining activities and handover to partners - Hold closeout events

February - Closeout of Pasig City Office effective February 28 - Disposition of Assets - Hold closeout events - Reporting to PSC

March - Limited staff to complete report and handovers to partners - Issue revised final report to USAID Disposition of Assets: Process and Indicative Timeline

•Process -Filed Site and SA Teams discuss disposition with partners and issue recommendations to project management -Project seeks USAID approval to dispose assets to select partners and beneficiaries -During final weeks of implementation in each site, dispose of assets to partners and complete handover documentation

•Considerations -Partners best positioned to use, benefit form assets -USAID project needs, vis-a-vis vehicles and office equipment -Fair disposition amongst core partners and beneficiaries

September 15-30 Zamboanga City Tawi-Tawi - Region 3 November 1-30 Palawan - Region 12 January 1-February 28 - Pasig City Office

Closeout Communication Activities

Big push for stories -Article pitches and social media content on project milestones with partners -Published on partner websites, Facebook pages, national and international media

Webinars -Topical/thematic webinars for sharing project milestones, as well as best practices, lessons learned

Issues/Concerns Discussions/Agreements Reached Recipients of the • Dr. Pasicolan inquired if the ERDB, as PSC member and materials and the research arm of the DENR, can be a recipient of the equipment after the equipment closedown of the Project • Mr. Manffedo responded that the Project planned to dispose the equipment to government partners, NGOs, and universities. For instance, Katala Foundation and PCSDs will be the recipients of the hand-held GPS units that were used for different studies with the said Offices. A lot of the equipment were deferred to the field teams of the Project who have the best awareness about who could best use the equipment and who mostly needs the equipment. The list is not yet final.

• Mr. Manfredo provided an email in the chat box where they can email for said concern. •-•v

• Mr. Macapodi inquired on the assets to be disposed of in

Region 12.

• Mr. Manfredo suggested to reach out and express interest with the PW Field Office Director in Region 12

9. The next meeting was schedules in December 2020. There being no other matters to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 4:10 P.M.• >

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