Phil Biodiversity 1-1

We

are losing much of the country's wealth in species and natural resources. How
will the country, and the world, plan to stop it?
By Kitty Amante, Communication and Information Officer, Haribon Foundation

Human well-being is dependent on a healthy environment. The myriad of benefits we get from nature provides
us with everything we need to meet our day-to-day needs. In countless ways, we turn to the natural environment
for something as basic as our food and water, clean air, shelter and medicines to the less obvious but equally
important as our protection from calamities.
The variety of life in the ecosystem or biodiversity is crucial to our survival and resilience as communities. Yet
despite its fundamental importance, the world’s biodiversity is being lost faster than ever. Human activity is
responsible for most of them. We are losing so many of our species and not only are these irreversible, they also
pose serious threats to our well-being.
A recent study by Stanford University states that we are living in the "early stages of the earth's sixth mass
extinction." This means that since the 1500s, over 300 terrestrial or land species have been extinct. The
population of the remaining species "shows 25% average decline in abundance" including the continuous loss
of habitats and ecosystem services upon which we depend on a daily basis.
In the Philippines, the patterns are equally dire as reported by the Philippine Biodiversity Conservation
Priorities (PBCP). We are home to a variety of ecosystems, vast landscapes, habitats and endemic species,
making our country a biodiversity hotspot at risk of steady decline. Over the past years, the Philippines has
experienced rapid environmental degradation. Data from PBCP shows that a staggering 93% of our original
forest cover in the 1900s are already lost due to commercial exploitation, introduction of invasive alien species
and population growth.
"We have very few forests left. And with the devastating impacts of climate change, we will continue to lose
our forests and our ecosystems will be fiercely affected," laments Maria Belinda de la Paz, Chief Operating
Officer of Haribon Foundation, the pioneer environmental organization in the Philippines.

Against this backdrop, the world's governments in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have made
commitments in 2010 to adopt the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the "most comprehensive"
international agreement on biodiversity conservation. It is a ten-year action framework composed of 20 targets,
known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Meeting the 2020 Biodiversity Targets
The Strategic Plan offers a template for nations to come up with measurable targets towards halting the loss of
biodiversity so that in 2020, ecosystems are resilient, benefiting human well-being and poverty reduction
initiatives. It works by ensuring that biodiversity issues and importance are mainstreamed, pressures and threats
are reduced, resources are used sustainably, capacities are enhanced and relevant policies are in place.
Anchored in the country's national development plan, an updated Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action
Plan (PBSAP) (2015-2028) now features specific targets, indicators and monitoring schemes according to the
Aichi biodiversity targets.
The goals of the PBSAP encompass the CBD objectives stressing the importance of biodiversity conservation,
its sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of resources.
The updating of this roadmap resulted in the structural reforms and threefold increase in the 2014 budget of the
Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. In the same year,
the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board has integrated the mainstreaming of biodiversity in its revised
Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
Among the actions taken by the Philippines towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets include the increase in target
forest cover from 23.9% (2003) to 52.6% (2006) of the total land area (Millennium Development Goals report
for 2007).
Despite this, much of the data concerning forest increase in the Philippines includes single-species tree
plantations, and does not discern the stark differences between plantation forest and forest ecosystems. Forest
ecosystems fuel agriculture and growing communities with water via watersheds. They provide shelter for our
unique wildlife, and livelihood and sustenance for Indigenous Peoples. Forests also protect communities from
devastating calamity, such as landslides or floods. Haribon continues to work in incorporating these important
attributes of forest in the Philippine laws, most especially though the Forest Resources Bill or FRB.
As a staunch advocate on environmental conservation, Haribon actively carries out, campaigns and supports
programs and interventions geared towards the protection and restoration of the Philippine ecosystem. The
recent Marine Key Biodiversity Areas or MKBA project supported by Haribon for instance has helped
improved the management of 16 marine protected areas in Lanuza Bay, Surigao del Sur.
Through its Biodiversity on Wheels (BOW) program, Haribon also brings biodiversity education to more than
40,000 school children to date in 13 communities all over the country. Awareness-raising on the values of
biodiversity and conservation is among the important targets of the first Aichi strategy goal.
Another main governmental response to the underlying causes of biodiversity loss is the establishment of
various conservation tools and protected area systems in habitats known to hold significant biological resources.
To promote sustainable use and benefits for communities, eco-tourism practices and fish farming in protected
areas are also being observed.
Incentive systems for biodiversity-friendly and gender-sensitive livelihoods and alternative practices are sought
to be in place as part of the campaign. On the other hand, perverse inducements that promote mining and
extraction of associated biodiversity are to be reexamined and reduced.
“The best way of coping is ensuring that ecosystems are able to provide its life-saving services. Ecosystems are
resilient. They can actually recover, if we only allow them to,” says de la Paz.
The ultimate decision-maker for biodiversity is the individual person. The small choices we make today add up
to a large impact on tomorrow’s measure of resources. Caring for the environment now is a promise of a
healthier future for generations to come.
Take that important step with us. Be a Haribon member today.
The 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity takes place on 4-
17 December 2016 in Cancun, Mexico.

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