The management of the country’s over 200 protected areas (PAs) – ranging from large natural parks, landscapes and seascapes, to wildlife and marine life sanctuaries – has enjoyed significant gains with strong support from the Aquino administration, according to Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje.

“The support provided by the present administration for PA management has been exponential, not only in terms of budget allocation but in legislation and strategies to enhance conservation and development,” Paje said.

According to the environment chief, such support could not be discounted given the immense role of PAs in providing services that address pressing challenges such as food and water security, health and well-being, disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation.

Paje, however, said several challenges remain in the management of conservation areas. Among these are the inclusion of PA management in the planning and budgeting of local government units (LGUs); the scaled-up development of management capacities including financing; and decision-making that are based on science.

He cited how the budget allocation increased from P100 to P600 million in 2014 for the management of 240 PAs spanning 5.4 million hectares nationwide.

Allocations for coastal and marine areas and resources have been increased to improve their resilience, as well as that of coastal communities and marine-dependent livelihoods, to climate change impacts.

The government has also established the Integrated PA Fund (IPAF) Retention Income Account, which retains 75 per cent of revenues generated by PA for use by the PA Management Boards in their rehabilitation and protection efforts. The remainder of the IPAF is remitted to the National Treasury.

Paje likewise cited the DENR’s strong representation in Congress to push for the passage of the Enhanced National Integrated Protected Areas System or ENIPAS Act. The law addresses system-wide issues and adopts the concept of ecosystem-based adaptation to comply with the Philippines’ commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

A record 175 countries had ratified the Agreement in New York and committed to primarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep the global temperature at less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The DENR, through its attached agency, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, has already completed the delineation of all PAs. Complementing this is the prioritization of 39 PAs for resource assessment, habitat protection, sustainable financing, and support to the operations of the Protected Area Management Boards.

With the Philippines being party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau has updated the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for the implementation of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets from 2016 to 2028.

The 20-point Aichi Biodiversity Targets provides an overarching framework for all member-countries of the United Nations and their partners engaged in biodiversity management and policy development. #

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Published: 27 April 2016

It only took five minutes for employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to reach the designated “evacuation site” during the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) held on April 21.

For this, officials and members of the DENR Disaster Risk Reduction Management Team (DRRMT), the Knights of Rizal-Disaster Emergency Responders International (KOR-DERIN), and the Quezon City Fire Bureau declared the earthquake drill held at the DENR central office in Quezon City a “success”.

NSED forms part of the periodic disaster response exercises ordered by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, based on the National Disaster Response Plan.

Such drills are executed quarterly to help people understand the impact of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake feared to specifically hit Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.

Administrative Service Director Jesus Enrico Moises Salazar, head of the DRRMT, said the earthquake drill was conducted to ensure the safety and welfare of all DENR workers and guests in times of disaster and other emergencies.

Now on its fourth year, Salazar said the drill “aims to save lives and properties as it becomes a natural response in all, when held regularly.”

Capt. Jose Roberto Tolentino Jr. of KOR-DERIN said the activity was expected to “level up” the earthquake preparedness of the DENR central office and its adjacent offices like the Philippine Information Authority, whose employees joined those of the DENR in the “evacuation site.”

“The drill prevents panic and develops some form of ‘muscle memory’ in a person, to avoid injury during an actual major tremor,” Tolentino said.

Such exercise also helps the responders improve their response plans while determining limitations and improving the capabilities of their equipment, he added.

During the drill, the DRRMT registered 663 personnel successfully evacuated, three “rescued” and “administered to” for minor injuries and ailments, and four determined as “casualties.” #

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Published: 26 April 2016

The commitment was the gist of a covenant signed on Friday at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Quezon City on the occasion of Earth Day.

The covenant signing happened on the same day the Paris agreement on climate change was signed by world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje represented President Benigno Aquino III during the high-level signing of the new global climate accord.

In a statement, Paje described the covenant as a manifestation of the country’s commitment to come up with its national determined contributions (NDC), which outlines climate mitigation and adaptation actions that will be implemented beyond 2020.

Paje said the country’s participation in the signing ceremony in New York was an assurance that the Philippines would continue to work with the U.N. and other countries against global warming “for the benefit of climate vulnerable communities around the world.”

“[With the covenant] we will be making actual deliveries on our intended contributions, transforming them into realities across a wide range of sectors, from energy, industry and transport, to agriculture, waste and forestry,” the environment chief said.

Isagani Serrano, president and country coordinator of Earth Day Network Philippines, said the Paris agreement was only one of those the country had signed to end poverty, reduce inequality and share prosperity while trying to save humanity from climate change catastrophe.

Serrano expressed optimism in finding “game-changing ways to capture and store carbon and give us back clean air.”

“We cannot go on the way we have been doing in the past up till now. We cannot continue with development that degrades the environment and leaves so many behind,” he said.

Around 50 organizations and agencies were represented during the covenant-signing, committing their support to the Paris accord’s goals.

The Paris agreement enjoins parties to minimize the increase in the global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while actively working towards a lower limit of 1.5 degrees.

To achieve the objective of a 70-percent emission reduction in the country, the covenant encourages different stakeholders to participate in the consultation and formulation processes for the NDC Roadmap.

This will ensure that the roadmap would be guided by principles of sustainable development, low emission development, disaster risk reduction and inclusive growth.

Signatories also commit to pursue policies and prioritize programs and projects that would make ecosystems more resilient and communities more adaptive to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

The Philippines, through the covenant, likewise supports the global effort to plant 7.8 billion trees to serve as carbon sinks. This is also to contribute to the first of five goals of the International Earth Day Movement, which marks its five-year countdown to its 50th anniversary in 2020. #

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Published: 24 April 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is hosting a conference that aims to strengthen efforts toward sustainability of protected areas (PAs) in the country.

The agency will bring together some 200 protected area managers and stakeholders from local government units, indigenous communities and civil society for the conference to be held from April 26 to 28 in Mandaluyong City.

This will be the second time the DENR holds a conference devoted to PA management. The first one took place in Davao City in 2001 when the participants focused on building lessons from past experiences in the field to serve as guide in improving PA management.

For this year, the meeting seeks to discuss new paradigms and good practices, as well as strengthen partnerships for more effective management of species and their habitats within PAs and to improve the livelihoods of rural communities.

The 2nd PA Conference is being organized by the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) and will carry the theme, “Sustaining Ecosystems Services and Benefits from Protected Areas.”

The conference is seen as an opportunity to review the implementation of Republic Act No. 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act, while emphasizing the role of PAs in providing and sustaining ecosystem services and benefits.

The highlight of the conference is the launching of the “Guidebook to Protected Areas in the Philippines” by Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje and Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate Climate Change Committee.

The confab will be divided into three plenary sessions, with each session having two breakout sessions.

The first plenary session, which will be chaired by BMB Director Theresa Mundita Lim and ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Roberto Oliva, will be on harnessing the benefits of PAs. The economic aspects of PAs will be discussed, including sustainable tourism.

The second plenary session will be on enhancing PA governance, with topics on inclusion of PA management in academic curriculum, public-private partnerships, integrating ecosystem management, and initiatives in biodiversity conservation. The session will be chaired by Clarissa Arida of the ACB’s Programme Development and Implementation, and Rodolfo Ferdinand Quicho Jr. of the Global Environment Facility – Small Grants Programme in the Philippines.

Improving advocacy and enforcement in PAs will be the focus of the third plenary session, which will be chaired by Tanggol Kalikasan’s Atty. Maria Paz Luna and Atty. Maria Generosa Mislang. Legal experts will discuss issues and challenges in PA law enforcement, including implementation of rules of procedure for environmental cases.

Since the last conference, PA management in the Philippines has undergone several developments, among which are the country’s commitments to various international agreements; recognition of the increasing role of indigenous and local communities in conservation areas; and climate change adaptation and mitigation. ###

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Published: 24 April 2016

Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje signed the landmark international climate agreement reached in Paris last December during a high-level signing ceremony held on April 22 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

The signing ceremony for the Paris accord took place on the first day the agreement was opened for signature, which coincides with the global observance of Earth Day.

The agreement was adopted by 196 countries that participated in the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, France on December 12, 2015.

Paje, who led the Philippine delegation to the signing ceremony, was designated and authorized by President Benigno Aquino III to sign the agreement for and on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines by virtue of a Special Authority dated April 7, 2016.

He also delivered the Philippine statement in which he appealed to other nations to immediately work toward reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and not wait for the Paris climate accord to come into force in 2020.

“Our contribution to the global problem that is climate change is admittedly a droplet in the well, but streams, lakes and oceans are all composed of mere droplets. We cannot do this alone,” Paje told world leaders who attended the event.

“Climate change will only be solved through the concerted efforts of all countries. We strongly urge that all countries build upon our momentum from Paris and work together towards full implementation of the agreement,” the environment chief added.

Paje said the Philippines signed the deal in the hope that all 196 countries who adopted it last December will begin the implementation of their respective intended nationally determined contribution (INDC).

INDC is a long-term commitment of a country to curb its GHG emissions, identifying among others its climate mitigation and adaptation actions that will be implemented beyond 2020.

Under its INDC submitted to the UNFCCC in October last year, the Philippines committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030, which will come from the energy, transport, waste, forestry and industry sectors.

“The Philippines, a highly vulnerable developing nation, has already taken step forward and has made its positions and commitment to immediately pursue national actions to address climate change through our INDC,” Paje said.

He said that while the country has one of the most ambitious national targets, the full implementation of its contribution to global action “requires grant-based support in the form of adequate, predictable and sustainable financing.”

However, despite financial constraints, Paje said the Philippines still managed to demonstrate its commitment of meeting its goal by starting the implementation of its National Climate Action Plan and the integration of climate change in national and local development plans and budgets.

“To secure a sustainable future, the Philippine government is pursuing value-added strategies to ensure the provision of ecosystem services and green growth strategies to address pollution and environmental degradation, including increasing our renewable energy capacity in the coming years,” Paje said.

He said the country also started investing in a climate resilient economy by incorporating the UN’s 17 sustainable developmental goals in its development and strategic plans and program.

“In the Philippines, we have been actively pursuing definitive actions through the convention and have recently submitted our Articles of Accession to the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol,” Paje pointed out.

According to Paje, the country’s GHG inventory management and reporting system among national agencies and partner institutions are already being established to create a transparent, accurate, complete and comparable baseline of emissions. ###

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Published: 22 April 2016