With a close focus on the theme “Harmony with nature and sustainable development,” the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through its  Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), will lead the national celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDBD) at the SM Mall of Asia Cinema in Pasay City on May 22, 2025. 

The celebration centers on the interdependent value of the two universal agendas, namely the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Promoting the vision of life in harmony with nature, the KMGBF has 23 action targets to achieve. Halting and reversing biodiversity loss is the primary mission, which is also essential to attaining the 17 SDGs. 

In a more holistic approach, the SDGs focus on the call to address global challenges such as ending poverty, attaining peace and prosperity, and protection of the planet. This year’s theme emphasizes the deep linkage between the two towards sustainability and societal progress. 

With that, countries are enjoined to further review, monitor, and implement their National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plans (NBSAPs), as the plans also translate the vision of the KMGBF, alongside the SDGs, for more site-specific functions and locally adaptive actions. 

From last year’s call to engage and collaborate with a multitude of stakeholders for biodiversity conservation, this year’s theme now directs with more promptness and sense of urgency. Since the implementation of both agendas will end by 2030, all sectors are called to take bolder initiatives and form stronger partnerships. 

The event for IDBD 2025 will be participated in by Senior High School and college students. Partners and guests from the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Inc. (SCPW), the Ramsar Regional Center-East Asia (RRC-EA), YouTube content creators, academe, and media representatives will also attend.

Featuring a range of activities,  the celebration includes a one-week social media campaign, a film showing and viewing of wetland-related YouTube video content, and a series of interviews with the filmmakers. 

A full-length documentary film on Philippine biodiversity will be shown. In addition, YouTube videos will be presented to promote awareness of the Ramsar Sites, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and the conservation of the Philippine wetlands. These are from the project with RRC-EA titled “YouTube Wetland Contents Development.”

With the whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach of the KMGBF, this year’s celebration emphasizes biodiversity conservation through inclusive participation. The global goals take a significant stance on universal well-being, serving as a crucial instrument in expanding engagement, from public to private entities, individuals to groups, and local to global contexts

With this initiative, participation in biodiversity and sustainability efforts remains open to diverse perspectives and solutions, including those from the creative sector, highlighting filmmakers, video content creators, and multimedia artists.  

Behind the films and videos, evident also within the country’s localities, global challenges continue. However, with accelerated implementation and coordination of the KMGBF and the SDGs with the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP), sustainability and a life in harmony with nature are a closer possibility for Filipino communities to actualize. 

Towards a sustainable future for the present and next generations, every insight and impact of each stakeholder matters in the protection, conservation, and sustainable management of biodiversity. Continuing to raise awareness through new media, public and private entities from local to international levels can then extend actions and strategies to nurture the Philippine biodiversity and its ecosystem services, even beyond the frames.       

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