DENR identifies Central Mindoro and Eastern Mindanao as pilot areas for the country’s major biodiversity corridors

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has identified Central Mindoro and Eastern Mindanao as pilot areas for the country’s major “biodiversity corridors” in what is considered the government agency’s biggest foreign-assisted project.

In a statement, the DENR said that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will help fund its Biodiversity Corridor (BC) project, which currently requires an investment of $74.961 million.

Of the $74.961 million required for the BC project, $12.26 million will be financed by the GEF Trust Fund.

The rest of the funding requirements for the project will come from various Philippine government agencies.

GEF is based in Washington DC, United States, and is a partnership of 18 agencies, including those from the United Nations, multilateral development banks, national entities, and international NGOs. It is currently working with 183 countries to address the world’s most challenging environmental issues.

To start the BC project, the DENR will first create the two pilot corridors in Central Mindoro and Eastern Mindanao to strengthen the management of 11 Protected Areas (PA) in the Philippines.

The “biodiversity corridors” are defined as “terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems that promote conservation of biodiversity with sustainable use.” The two pilot areas were chosen based on their importance; the criteria that determined it considered flora and fauna endemism, biodiversity threats, and economic significance.

The project will establish at least 200,000 hectares of key biodiversity areas (KBAs) that are currently outside of the PA system through Indigenous People management.

At present, a total of 16 KBAs are located in the aforementioned two biodiversity corridors and cover a total combined area of 1.026 million hectares.

The project will also implement a new framework in biodiversity conservation called integrated ecosystem management (IEM) which will promote regional development, investment planning, and the creation of municipal local government comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs).

DENR said the project is expected to bolster the environment with carbon sequestration equivalent to 44.3 million metric tons over 20 years.

“At least 65,000 individuals, 30 percent of which are Indigenous People belonging to 15,000 households will directly benefit through sustainable natural resource management and livelihood improvement,” said the DENR.

SOURCE: Manila Bulletin