The Global Environment Facility has pledged to fund a conservation project to conserve the Philippine Rise

The Global Environment Facility (GEF), a Washington DC-based trust fund, pledged to fund a government-led project to conserve the Philippine Rise, a 25-million hectare shallow continental shelf east of the main island of Luzon.

A statement revealed that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Conservation International are now working on the design of a project to conserve the Benham Bank.

The proposed five-year project, Philippine Rise Integrated Conservation for Enduring Legacies through Ecosystem Support Services (PRICELESS), will receive a budget of US$4 million or ₱193 million from the GEF.

It will be carried out by the DENR in partnership with Conservation International, Rare Philippines, and non-government organizations.

The project aims to address the need to bolster our capacity to protect and manage the waters, reefs, and natural resources in the Philippine Rise Marine Resource Reserve (PRMRR).

The PRMRR is composed of the Benham Bank and its surrounding waters and is the first National Integrated Protected Areas System Marine Protected Area (NIPAS MPA) in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Given the vast, offshore areas of the Philippine Rise, the project also aims to strengthen coordination between the DENR, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, and others.

SOURCE: Manila Bulletin