Module 8

• Global population is expected to reach eight billion by 2025
• Humanity depends on nature for food and water, materials for survival, and safety from environmental threats, such as epidemics and natural catastrophes
• Humanity is not so good in managing the resources that are the basis of our survival
• Natural resources


  Land, air, water, forests, fisheries, minerals and wildlife provided by nature, which together produce the ecosystem services critical to human existence and welfare
• Natural resources are subjected to increasing pressures and threats
• Biological conservation


  • An approach to sustaining living systems
• Protected area


  (as defined by IUCN) a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values
• Protected areas are critical for maintaining a healthy environment for people and nature, essential for biodiversity conservation, and vital to the cultures and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities
• Protected areas deliver clean air and water, bring benefits to millions of people through tourism, and provide protection from climate change and natural disasters
• In 2011, the global protected area network included more than 150,000 sites with a total land area of at least 24 million square kilometers that covers more than 15% of the earth's total land surface
• As of December 2016, the global coverage was 14.8% of terrestrial and inland water areas, 5.1% of oceans and 12.7% of the coastal and marine areas
• The target for 2020 is to conserve at least 17% of terrestrial areas and 10% of coastal and marine areas (Aichi Target 11 of the Conservation of Biological Diversity)
• In the Philippines, the national framework for the establishment of protected areas is Republic Act 7586, known as the "National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (NIPAS) Act", which was signed on June 1, 1992

  
• The first known legislation intended for establishment of national parks in the Philippines was signed in 1932, known as "Act No. 3915: An Act Providing for the Establishment of National Parks"
• Protected area (under NIPAS Act)


  Identified 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
• Specific categories of protected areas under the NIPAS Act


  • Strict nature reserve
  • Natural park
  • Natural monument
  • Wildlife sanctuary
  • Protected landscape and seascapes
  • Resource reserve
  • Natural biotic areas
• As of 2016, the Philippines had 559 protected areas composed of 45,762 square kilometers of protected areas (15.32% of total land area) and 21,269 square kilometers (1.16% of total marine area)

  
• The overall management of the protected areas in the Philippines is under the general supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

  
• Effective management of protected areas requires sufficient funding and community support
• Typically, funding comes from government allocations and private donations or grants from international funding agencies, providing about 80% of total funds for protected area management in the Philippines
• There is an estimated funding shortfall of about 70% for protected area management in the Philippines
• Lack of community support or conflict with protected area managers can arise when communities lack awareness about biodiversity, they are neglected in decision-making, or the establishment of protected areas is perceived to result in inequitable distribution of benefits or disadvantage the community by curtailing their resource utilization or source of livelihood
• Natural resource management


  The sustainable utilization of major natural resources, such as land, water, air, minerals, forests, fisheries, and wild flora and fauna
• The establishment of protected areas remains the major approach for biodiversity conservation worldwide
• Many areas with abundant and important natural resources, including biodiversity, are also inhabited by humans or are in the fringes of human settlements
• It is important to balance nature conservation with the socio-economic realities of the human population that directly or indirectly benefits from living systems
• Key biodiversity areas (KBAs)


  Sites that have significant global contribution, identified by national constituencies using globally standardized criteria and quantitative thresholds which can be applied to species and ecosystems in terrestrial, inland water, and marine environments
• There are more than 15,000 KBAs identified to date globally
• In the Philippines, the initiation of definition of KBAs was a collaborative initiative by Conservation International Philippines (CIP), Haribon Foundation and the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the DENR

  
• Establishment of protected areas


  Cornerstone of management and conservation of natural resources
• The use and enjoyment of these protected areas must be consistent with the principles of biological diversity and sustainable development
• Key biodiversity areas (KBAs)

  • Sites that have significant global contribution
  • Identified by national constituencies using globally standardized criteria and quantitative thresholds
  • Can be applied to species and ecosystems in terrestrial, inland water, and marine environments
  • More than 15,000 KBAs identified to date globally
• In the Philippines, the initiation of definition of KBAs was a collaborative initiative by Conservation International Philippines (CIP), Haribon Foundation and the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the DENR, following standard criteria

  
• Most of the Philippine KBAs are terrestrial areas, while there are also KBAs that cover both terrestrial and marine areas

  
• The country's KBAs represent the "known habitat of 855 species, 396 globally threatened, 398 restricted-range species of plants and animals and 61 species of congregatory birds
• KBAs


  • Guide the strategic expansion of protected area networks by governments and civil society
  • Provide growing recognition for and investment in site conservation efforts by local and indigenous communities
• Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM)


  • One of the oldest approaches in natural resource management, wherein a group of people (usually in rural areas) manage the use of resources in their defined area, using communal facilities
  • Promotes conservation through the sustainable use of natural resources, enables communities to generate income that can be used for rural development, and promotes democracy and good governance in local institutions
• Integrated natural resources approaches

  • Integrated water resource management
  • Ecosystems approach
  • Integrated coastal zone management
  • Integrated natural resources management
  • Forest landscape restoration
• Integrated water resource management


  A process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources, to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems
• Ecosystem approach


  A strategy for the integrated management of land, water, and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way