The implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) in the Philippines that aims to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and water ecosystems by 2030 takes centerstage as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDBD) on May 22 in Taguig City.

The KMGBF aims to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect indigenous peoples and local communities. Also called “The Biodiversity Plan,” the Framework was adopted during the COP15 in Montreal, Canada in December 2022. With its adoption, it is urgent to accelerate action across sectors and society to achieve its goals and targets and address the key drivers of biodiversity loss including changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution and invasion of alien species.

In the country, the DENR takes the lead in advancing the implementation of the biodiversity framework. To achieve its targets, the Department will set up five new marine research stations in six biogeographic regions in the country located in the provinces of Cagayan, Aurora, Eastern Samar, Sarangani, Zamboanga and Palawan.

The DENR will also enhance protection measures for the Tubbataha Reef and implement a Species Conservation Action Plan for the Philippines’ endangered endemic species including the Philippine Eagle, Philippine Cockatoo, Tamaraw, Marine Turtle, and Dugong.

The Department is currently updating the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan to review the country’s roadmap in conserving and managing its biodiversity to make it climate and disaster risk sensitive.

With the theme “Be Part of the Plan,” the national celebration of IDBD will focus on accelerating the implementation of the Framework through a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach. The Framework advocates and promotes a global outreach campaign to halt and reverse biodiversity loss through the active participation of various stakeholders including the government, private sector, indigenous peoples, and local communities.

This year’s celebration will emphasize the continuous realization of the KMGBF in the Philippines and within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and advance the understanding of biodiversity through immersive media.

Raising the platform for collaboration and partnerships, partners from the foreign-assisted and special projects, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations will take part in the celebration underscoring their significant roles and contributions.

On May 22, the DENR-BMB and the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) will co-lead discussions on the progress of the KMGBF. The discussions will provide updates on the status of the implementation of KMGBF in the country, and how the Philippines is enhancing biodiversity conservation, addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development to achieve the targets of the Framework by 2030.

Among the highlights of the celebration is the launching of the “Sukat ng Kalikasan” an ecological guidebook for natural resource managers at the Mind Museum in Taguig City. Co-developed by United States Agency for International Development-Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes (USAID-SIBOL), DENR, and other national government agencies, the guidebook features the local adaptation of the High Conservation Value Areas – Natural Capital Accounting (HCVA-NCA) frameworks that will be instrumental in determining the protection levels and management regimes of protected areas in the Philippines. The guidebook will help natural resource managers identify conservation values, set conservation targets, and measure conservation impacts.

This will be followed by the opening of the Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room (BCER), an immersive escape room experience developed by USAID-SIBOL and Bonifacio Arts Foundation, Inc. that teaches biodiversity conservation through the application of the Sukat ng Kalikasan framework. The escape room experience will come with a two-part television show, a sneak peek of which will also be shown on the same day.

A 10-day social media campaign from May 13 to 22 will hallmark the different roles of stakeholders along with the 23 KMGBF targets.

The United Nations Development Programme-Biodiversity Finance for Nature (UNDP-BIOFIN), along with open finance platform co-developers Unit 256 Ventures Inc. and UBX will lead a fund-raising activity called “Art for Nature: Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) for Biodiversity” at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Ortigas Center on May 20. The event will feature premium artworks for the protected areas (PAs) and endangered wildlife in the Philippines. It aims to raise awareness among emerging NFT enthusiasts in the country on biodiversity conservation.

The IDBD 2024 celebration aims to “increase the visibility momentum” before the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), to be held in Colombia from October 21 to November 1, 2024. ###