Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2028
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Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2028 Bringing Resilience to Filipino Communities Published By: Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Biodiversity Management Bureau Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center Diliman, 1100 Quezon City Global Environment Facility 1899 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006, United States Foundation for the Philippine Environment 77 Matahimik St., Teacher’s Village, Diliman, Quezon City United Nations Development Programme 30th Floor, Yuchengco Tower, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue, 1226 Makati City Suggested citation: Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). (2016). Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2015-2028): Bringing Resilience to Filipino Communities. C. Cabrido (Ed.). Quezon City, Philippines: BMB-DENR, United Nations Development Programme – Global Environment Facility, Foundation for the Philippine Environment. Design: VJ Graphic Arts, Nikola Kristen R. Curata Cover Photographs: (from top to bottom, left to right) Children playing slide - Jonathan Hodder Rice field and farmer - Rodolfo Santos Fish vendor - Jonathan Hodder Tubattaha reef - Yvette Lee Little Golden-mantled flying fox - Don Geoff Tabaranza Philippine eagle - Klaus Nigge Indigenous peoples - Mitchel Confesor Puerto Princessa Underground River - Erickson Tabayag Tamaraw - Don Geoff Tabaranza Sinian river in Baliagao Protected Landscape and Seascape - Beverly Cabatuan City view over Manila Bay - Jonathan Hodder Raflessia speciosa - Danilo Tandang Dipterocarp forest - Rodolfo Santos ISBN 978-621-95016-6-8 Copyright © 2016 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Biodiversity Management Bureau, United Nations Development Programme - Global Environment Facility, Foundation for the Philippine Environment All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this publication is authorized only for educational or other non-commercial purposes and must credit the publisher and copyright owner. Printed in the Philippines Acknowledgments The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is pleased to present the PBSAP 2015-2028 that serves as the country’s framework in conserving biodiversity to improve human well-being thus contributing to the attainment of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) goals and the President’s 10-point Agenda. The PBSAP 2015-2028 is the third in a series of iterations since the Philippines’ ratification of the CBD. The first iteration of the PBSAP was done in 1997 and was followed by an updated plan in 2002. This latest iteration is a result of extensive and participatory consultations from February 2013 to March 2015 among more than 800 individuals representing nearly 200 agencies and organizations from the government, private sector, media and academe including non-government agencies and people’s organizations both at the local and international levels. Annex 4 contains the full list of the participating agencies. The PBSAP 2015-2028 was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Government of the Philippines. BMB-DENR would like to express its deepest gratitude to the organizations and individuals who are behind the successful formulation of the updated PBSAP 2015-2028: Members of the PBSAP Project Board/National Steering Committee and Technical Working Group; ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB); BirdLife International; Haribon Foundation, Inc.; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the Protected Area Management Enhancement in the Philippines (PAME) Project; UNDP through the Biodiversity Partnership Project (BPP); FishBase Information and Research Group, Inc. (FIN); and USAID through the Philippines Biodiversity and Watersheds Improved for Stronger Economy and Ecosystem Resilience (B+WISER) Program The core group of individuals who worked through the 34-month process of formulating the plan utilizing accurate and up-to-date information from a vast and diverse pool of sources to ensure a quality and robust plan. These people are: Lead expert discussants: Enrica Aquino, Margarita Lavides, Christine Casal, Eduardo Queblatin, Elpidio Peria, and Marivic Pajaro Co-discussants and technical advisers: Cristi Nozawa, Sheila Vergara, Rodolfo Santos, Corazon Sinha, Felix Gaschick, Jean Caleda, Elena Javier, and Kent Tangcalagan BMB Working Team: Dir. Theresa Mundita Lim, Asst. Dir. Noel Antonio Gaerlan, Executive Dir. Vincent Hilomen, Norma Molinyawe, Armida Andres, Nancy Corpuz, Josefina de Leon, Meriden Maranan, Marlynn Mendoza, Sarah Tagtag, Angelita Meniado, and Carlo Custodio Documenters : Nermalie Lita, Rowena Tercero, Winnievir Balilia, Jessa Marie Quintana, Rej Winlove Bungabong, John Erick Avelino, Eduardo Genciagan, Jr., Justin Nicole Torres, Elirozz Carlie Labaria, Kahlil Panopio, Gregorio dela Rosa, Jr., Je-el Constantino, and Raymund Pajela GIS Support: Diosmedado Cocal, Septher Ian Salcedo, and Matea Osti Overall Facilitator: Veronica Villavicencio Writer: Charina Cabrido UNDP Inclusive and Sustainable Development Unit: Amelia Supetran, Grace Tena, and Michael Joseph Jaldon, and Rose Anne Bautista-Lumenario Project Management Unit: Anabelle Plantilla, Angelique Ogena, and Kamille Jan Trillanes-Rosales The publication of this document was made possible by the Foundation for the Philippine Environment. iii Foreword A recent study released by Stanford scientists states that we are living in the “early stages of the earth’s sixth mass extinction”. More than 300 large terrestrial species have disappeared from the face of the earth since the 1500s, and “populations of the remaining species show 25 percent average decline in abundance. Invertebrate patterns are equally dire: 67 percent of monitored populations show 45 percent mean abundance decline”. And along with these extinctions are the loss of habitats and ecosystem services, which they are associated with. In the Philippines, we have lost almost 93 percent of our original forest cover since the 1900’s (Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priorities [PBCP], 2002). In 2008, 58 out of the 206 then known mammal species native to the Philippines were included in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2008). This is a number that is significantly large, considering that more than half of our native mammalian species are found only in the country and nowhere else in the world. The updating of the NBSAP comes at an opportune time when there is a need to re-examine the Philippines’ roadmap in conserving and managing its biodiversity resources that would be beneficial for the country’s economic development. The PBSAP 2015-2028 is not only our compliance to the Convention on Biological Diversity but also our opportunity to strongly support national interests and biodiversity conservation priorities. In order to meet the changing needs of the biodiversity sector, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources took structural reforms and invested threefold increase in the 2014 budget of the department’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), formerly the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), compared to its budget last year. We have institutionalized marine biodiversity conservation into our mandate, with the creation of the coastal and marine division in our Agency structure, embodied in the DENR’s approved rationalization plan. Later on, more development partners, such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have joined us in implementing our sectoral roadmap, and eventually, we hope to have all of you as partners as well, towards the implementation of a more responsive and adaptive Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Through successful collaborations, new information of rediscovered species has allowed us to reevaluate our protected area system and our conservation priorities. One significant milestone in the last five years is the inclusion of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) in our list of protected areas, covering a total area of 26,125.64 hectares in the city of Antipolo and in the municipalities of Baras, Rodriquez, San Mateo and Tanay, all in the province of Rizal, proclaimed by President Benigno S. Aquino III in November of 2011. Although we may have had significant gains in terms of protecting and conserving Philippine biodiversity for the past years, there are still challenges ahead. We must continue working with different partners in the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components for fair and equitable sharing for all. DR. THERESA MUNDITA S. LIM Director of Biodiversity Management Bureau Department of Environment and Natural Resources iv Table of Contents i. List of Acronyms ..........................................................................................................................................................................................vii ii. List of Tables .................................................................................................................................................................................................. xi iii. List of Figures.............................................................................................................................................................................................