Protected Areas as forefront of Biodiversity Conservation in the Philippines

The Philippines has always been considered one of the mega diverse country in the world. With ecosystems that boast of one of the highest levels of diversity and endemicity of life forms and some of the most unique habitats in the world-home to some of the planet’s critically endangered species of wildlife. With the country’s habitats and ecosystems, which play a major role in maintaining ecological balance in constant threat from illegal resource use and development activities increasing the pressure on already declining resources, the country has become one of the “Biodiversity hotspots” in the world.

In order to address these threats to biodiversity, the Philippine Government in cooperation and consultation with local and foreign conservation partners, embarked on a mission to establish a system of protected areas in the country. Assessments, researches and studies were conducted to determine and prioritize the conservation of the last remaining Philippine species, habitats and ecosystems.

“Protected areas provided the foundation of national conservation strategies and delivery of Aichi Target in the Philippines“.

Legal Basis of Protected Areas in the Philippines

Two landmark laws were enacted for the establishment and management of protected areas: Republic Act No 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 and Republic Act No 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act of 2018.

NIPAS and E-NIPAS define protected areas as “portions of land and water set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation”.

With the passage of the NIPAS Act of 1992, priority conservation areas were identified through innovative approaches and the legislation provided the framework for a decentralized, community-based reserve management strategies.