Arroyo Issues National Policy on Biodiversity

VERDE ISLAND, Batangas City, Nov 10 Asia Pulse - The multi-sectoral clamour to push biodiversity conservation into the national agenda received a big boost Wednesday when Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed an executive order establishing the national policy on biological diversity.

The executive order is the highlight of the National Biodiversity Conference held here and attended by about 200 participants from national government agencies, private sector, non-government organizations, and local government units in Batangas and Mindoro.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Angelo T. Reyes led the holding of the conference in response to President Arroyo's concern that the Philippines is now in the middle of a "biodiversity crisis."

Reyes said that the conference has set the stage for creating a policy environment on biodiversity conservation among key stakeholders.

He added that the conference has further given the DENR "fresh windows" upon which to build on the momentum the DENR has generated over the years.

The DENR chief also lauded the signing of the executive order that he said "will pave the way for all government departments and agencies to integrate and mainstream the protection, conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into our policies, plans and programs."

The executive order prescribes the implementation of the national biological diversity policy throughout the country, in particular in the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecosystem (SSME) and the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor. The area is believed to harbor the richest marine species in the world and is the marine counterpart to the Amazon River Basin.

The Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor, which is within the SSME, covers the provinces of Batangas, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque and Romblon. It has been identified by scientists as the "Centre of Marine Shorefish Diversity in the World."

The President declared the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor as a marine sanctuary and a national protected area.

Dr. Kent Carpenter, a marine biologist and coordinator of the Global Marine Species Assessment of the World Conservation Union, along with fellow researcher Dr. Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Institute announced in their report of the Philippines' marine resources that the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor has been found to have 1,736 overlapping marine species over a 10 kilometre by 10 kilometre area, making it the highest concentration of marine life in the world.

Dr. Carpenter said that the center of the center of marine biodiversity found in the Philippine Islands "is a unique global natural heritage that deserves special conservation and marine management attention, particularly because habitats in the Philippines have been documented as having some of the most severe threats."

The executive order directs the creation of the ad hoc task force on the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor called the Verde Task Force with the primary objective of ensuring the protection, conservation, and sustainable use of biodiversity in the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor.

The task force shall be chaired by the DENR with the Departments of Tourism, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Energy, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, National Defense, Health, and Interior and Local Governments, the National Economic and Development Authority, and concerned LGUs as members.

The conference reaffirms collaborative efforts between DENR and its various stakeholders on biodiversity conservation.

(PNA)

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