NBSAP FORUM BEST PRACTICE TEMPLATE

The purpose of the NBSAP Forum Best Practices facility (http://nbsapforum.net/#best-practices-search) is to enable countries to share and learn about best practices in the development and implementation of NBSAPs. We want to hear from you. Please document an NBSAP-related intervention, mechanism, product or concrete action developed that solves a particular problem or challenge.

1. Title (Max. 20 words): Mainstreaming the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan into national and local landscapes

2. Summary of the best practice: Provide a very short summary that explains the best practice and how it was applied. Similar to an abstract, consider briefly describing the following: Problem addressed, location, how, for whom, the historical context, the main actors involved, what was done and what was the result. While borne out of a highly participatory process involving national and local governments, civil society, academe, and the private sector, the implementation of PBSAP and especially the allocation of funds, depend on a clear policy formulation, sustained awareness raising, and integration in related planning process. Strategic Goal A of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets addresses “the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society”. Specifically, Target 2 of the Aichi Targets indicates that “By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems.” The Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) was formulated and formally adopted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in June 2016 through an administrative order (i.e., DAO 2016-12). DAO 2016-12 cited a number of Government issued Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations that provide the legal basis for mainstreaming PBSAP across national and local government agencies, including Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and the Academe. To achieve the Aichi Target on mainstreaming, on-going efforts are being done thru the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of DENR and the project management unit of the NBSAP project. At the national level, NBSAP targets and indicators are being integrated into the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and the Sustainable Development Goals (i.e., SDGs 2, 11, 13,14, 15, and 17) through participation in several meetings and workshops. At the local level, the Palawan Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) developed its own local biodiversity strategy and action plan and called it the Palawan Sustainable Development Strategy and Action Plan (PSDSAP), which was anchored on the PBSAP. A civil society-led movement called Zero Extreme Poverty 2030 participated in by sectoral groups, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, business, academe and media, organizations from government, is formulating a 15-year Agenda to eradicate poverty and inequality in the country. One of the eight themes in the agenda is environment and with the 20 targets identified in the PBSAP, members belonging to this theme identified activities that they can

contribute to and the specific organizations that can and will work on these agreed activities for each target. Alternatively, the implementation of the PBSAP has been included in the Civil Society Organization (CSO) Development and Reform Agenda for 2016-2019 which is a set of proposed priority actions in the first three years of the newly elected President of the Philippines and the national government agencies. In 2009, in midst of a global economic crisis, mal-governance across all levels of the country and the clockwork devastation brought about by extreme climate change, CODE-NGO and many other CSOs put forward a Development and Reform Agenda (DRA) identifying priority actions in the hope that these will guide the succeeding administration in steering the country towards democratization and development. This agenda was based on four pillars: (a) Ensuring Empowerment and Democratization, (b) Reducing Poverty and Inequality, (c) Building Peace and (d) Promoting a Sustainable Economy and Environment. Sectors have joined hands since and continue to cooperate in pushing for transparency in people’s participation in governance, building and maintaining peace, improving access to social services and the fight against corruption. At present, BMB-DENR’s priority programs are anchored on the PBSAP.

2. NBSAP Relevance: Provide a brief explanation of the relevance to either NBSAP revision or implementation. Mainstreaming the PBSAP targets and indicators into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes as well as into national accounting and reporting systems makes biodiversity a priority in national development concerns and will draw attention especially from the policy makers. Mainstreaming biodiversity into national decision-making processes will enable the country to assess the impacts of biodiversity loss, trade-offs and facilitate greater coordination among national and local government agencies.

3. The problem or challenge this best practice addresses: Provide a brief description of the challenge that was addressed. Why was a solution needed? Biodiversity has been less of a priority in terms of the country’s development agenda. One indicator is the budget of the natural resources and environment sector which consistently constitutes 1% of the total national budget from 2010-2013 (UNDP BIOFIN, 2016). Another is the low awareness of stakeholders, government agencies, civil society organizations, academe and other institutions concerned on the value of biodiversity and the benefits it provides. To address this, there should be a conducive policy environment for the implementation of the PBSAP and increased investment for biodiversity, including strong advocacy to ensure that all relevant stakeholders participate in the full and effective implementation of policies particularly the PBSAP. Mainstreaming PBSAP targets and indicators into national and local processes enables greater policy support for biodiversity conservation through the implementation of the PBSAP and greater investments.

4. The action taken: Provide a brief description of the actions you took to overcome the challenge. What were the key steps that contributed to the success of the project? Consider adding a bullet point list.

Updated the PBSAP and ensured that the updating process is a widely consultative process and participated in by multi-sectoral agencies and organizations to promote ownership of the plan and its implementation

Issuance of DENR Administrative Order 2016-12 adopting the PBSAP and authorizing BMB-DENR to “coordinate the implementation and mainstreaming of the PBSAP with the plans and programs of concerned national government agencies and local government units, including government-owned and controlled corporations and government financial institutions, and state universities and colleges.”

Ensure integration of PBSAP targets and indicators in the new PDP and the formulation of SDG indicators as well as CSO-led action plans and agenda

Implement awareness raising activities (consultation meetings and roundtable discussions, cascading workshops, press conferences, press releases, opinion editorials, social media visibility, etc.) to identify new biodiversity champions and allies and strengthen current partnerships between and among stakeholders

Identification and pilot testing of resource mobilization strategies for the implementation of the PBSAP

5. Impacts and outcomes of the best practice: List the key impacts and outcomes that resulted from the action taken. Where possible, quantify the impacts /tangible outcomes of the intervention

The Provincial Government of Palawan has developed its own biodiversity strategy and action plan (i.e., PSDSAP) which enables for greater appreciation and ownership of the plan at the provincial level.

Mainstreaming PBSAP into national, regional and local development plans allows for the implementation through existing institutional and coordination mechanisms and mandatory allocation of budget among offices across institutional levels

Contributes to the attainment of the PDP, Aichi Targets, and SDGs

BMB adopted the PBSAP priority programs as the Bureau’s priority programs

Anchoring on the PBSAP targets and actions, the Environment cluster of the Zero Extreme Poverty 2030 developed a concrete action plan to address challenges on poverty and environment and have committed to help by identifying the activities they can implement and areas of collaboration with government agencies

Mainstreaming PBSAP into the CSO Development and Reform Agenda for 2016-2019 ensures that the CSOs will help implement the PBSAP actions and activities and that it is one of the priorities

6. Key lessons learned in the application of the best practice: Summarize the key challenges lessons were learnt from the successes or failures of the action taken. How were they overcome?

BMB and the PBSAP PMO were given an opportunity to localize the PBSAP by providing technical assistance to the PCSD in formulating their version of the PBSAP. The coordination for this was made easier given that the former Assistant Director of BMB was appointed as Executive Director of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD)

Including the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the country’s central planning agency, in the PBSAP updating process was a strategy to enable mainstreaming of

the PBSAP into the Philippine Development Plan as well as in the SDGs and enlisting their assistance and support in the implementation of the PBSAP. Their active involvement was a good opportunity to strengthen biodiversity conservation advocacy within the government agenda at all levels of administration.

The regional consultations during the updating process were excellent opportunities for raising awareness on biodiversity conservation as the participants were a diverse mix of representatives from various government agencies and sectors of society, most of whom work outside of biodiversity conservation.

Prior to the issuance of DAO 2016-12 adopting the Plan, there was lack support/buy-in on the PBSAP given the varying levels of appreciation and understanding on biodiversity conservation by various offices and bureaus of the DENR. The contentious issue that prevented the PBSAP adoption by the DENR was how the PBSAP deals with the management of key biodiversity areas (KBA). Raising this issue came late in the Project timetable thus, had compelled the Project to draft a Memorandum Order for the Secretary’s signature clarifying the management of KBAs. There was a substantial amount of support that has been generated from other agencies and sectors but extra effort was employed to obtain the same level of support from the DENR as it was viewed by a few that it was a duplication of already existing action plans. For example, the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development extended an invitation for the PBSAP to be presented and recommended for adoption in one of its regular meetings. To address this issue, the PMO conducted several small meetings/consultations/round table discussions (RTD) with concerned DENR bureaus and attached agencies to raise awareness on the PBSAP and explain the context on how the concept of KBA was used in the Plan. While the current DENR administration has been very vocal in supporting biodiversity conservation, continuous and extensive social marketing of the PBSAP within the DENR as a whole as well as with other stakeholders will be pursued to generate support and mainstream biodiversity conservation in their respective plans and processes.

Mobilizing resources for PBSAP implementation is crucial, thus, BMB is now working closely with the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Finance in this aspect. By doing this, awareness on biodiversity and its role in national development is highlighted in these government agencies.

Although a DENR administrative Order has been issued, the issuance of an Executive Order should be pursued to ensure that all levels of governance will take part in the execution of the PBSAP in their respective areas of jurisdiction. This issuance will serve as the legal reference of all relevant agencies other than the DENR in providing investments in the full implementation of PBSAP.

7. Key Weblinks: Provide web links to key resources associated with the best practice and include a description of what it links to. These could include: videos, success stories/communication pieces, websites, reports, media coverage and maps. Add http:// to each weblink.

Department of Environment Administrative Order 2016-12 adopting the PBSAP o See attached

Philippine Development Plan o http://www.neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Revalidated-RM_Final.pdf

Zero Extreme Poverty 2030 o http://zeropovertyph.net/

o https://www.facebook.com/ZeroExtremePoverty2030/ o see attached draft proceedings of the Zero Extreme Poverty 2030 Consultation-

Workshop of NGOs on Environment (July 28-29, 2016)

Palawan Sustainable Development Strategy and Action Plan (PSDSAP) o http://pcsd.gov.ph/psdsap/

CSO Development and Reform Agenda for 2016-2019 o http://code-ngo.org/2016/04/cso-development-reform-agenda-2016-19/

Mainstreaming biodiversity into national, regional and local planning processes provides for a conducive environment for the implementation of the PBSAP as well as increasing funding for its implementation. UNDP Country Director released an opinion editorial entitled “Investing in biodiversity is investing in our future” which appeared in several national broadsheets. The Op-Ed somehow urges each and every sector in the country to practice sustainable management of natural resources to obtain significant social and economic returns.

o http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2016/05/20/1584999/investing-biodiversity-investing-our-future

o http://opinion.inquirer.net/94897/investing-in-biodiversity-is-investing-in-our-future

o http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/investing-in-biodiversity-is-investing-in-our-future/

Increasing awareness on biodiversity and the PBSAP is a way of creating buy-in and support among concerned agencies and organizations.

In order to mainstream biodiversity, engage partners, and advocate for more effective funding for biodiversity, a press conference was held last December 11, 2015 by the BIOFIN team. A press release was made thereafter to inform the public about the financing requirement in terms of implementing the PBSAP and this was picked up by several print and online media:

o Philstar Date: Dec 14

Title: Php334 billion needed for biodiversity conservation in the Philippines Link: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/12/14/1532422/p334-b-needed-biodiversity-conservation-philippines

o Manila Bulletin Date: December 11

Title: Ph needs to invest Php334 Billion over 13 years to conserve biodiversity Link: http://www.mb.com.ph/ph-needs-to-invest-p335-billion-over-13-years-to-conserve-biodiversity/

Date: December 11 Title: P334 billion needed to preserve PH’s biodiversity – UNDP Link: http://www.mb.com.ph/p334-billion-needed-to-preserve-phs-biodiversity-undp/

o Kagay-an.com Date: December 11

Title: Php334 billion needed for biodiversity conservation in the Philippines

Link: http://www.kagay-an.com/php334b-needed-biodiversity-conservation-philippines/

o Media: Manila Times Date: December 11

Title: Biodiversity conservation needs P334B Link: http://www.manilatimes.net/breaking_news/biodiversity-conservation-needs-p334b/

o Business Mirror Date: December 14

Title: UNDP: Biodiversity conservation projects need P334-billion budget Link: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/undp-biodiversity-conservation-projects-need-p334-billion-budget/

o Inq.net Date: December 13

Title: P334 billion needed for biodiversity conservation Link: http://business.inquirer.net/204083/p334b-needed-for-biodiversity-conservation

o InterAksyon.com Date: December 13, 2015

Title: Philippines needs P334 billion for biodiversity conservation - DENR Link:http://www.interaksyon.com/article/121369/philippines-needs-p334-billion-for-biodiversity-conservation---denr

o Wazzup Pilipinas (blogger) Date: December 11

Title: Php334 billion needed for biodiversity conservation in the Philippines Link: http://www.wazzuppilipinas.com/2015/12/php334b-needed-for-biodiversity.html

o Beyond Gallivanting (blogger) Date: December 14

Title: Php334B Needed for Biodiversity Conservation in the Philippines Link: http://beyondgallivanting.tumblr.com/post/135164233937/php334b-needed-for-biodiversity-conservation-in

Social media visibility is also maintained by regularly posting updates on the PBSAP-BIOFIN’s social media accounts:

Facebook - www.facebook.com/pbsap

Twitter - @BIOFIN_PH

Cascading workshops are being conducted by the BMB and the PBSAP-BIOFIN team to increase awareness on the PBSAP. The first of a series of cascading workshops was conducted last Oct 17-18, 2016 among the BMB senior and technical staff, BMB-UNDP projects, and PAME-GIZ including the DENR Region 4A office. The next cascading workshops will be conducted for the other DENR bureaus and line agencies as well as other regional offices. Below are photos from the BMB cascading workshop (Photo credits: Angelique Ogena)

8. Photographs: Include a relevant, high-resolution photo (ideally 300 dots per inch), and a caption and credit for the photo. Photos of people in action are ideal.

Press conference on Financing Biodiversity, 11 December 2015 (L-R) Mr. Guillermo Zuñiga, former Costa Rica Minister of Finance and Project Manager of BIOFIN Costa Rica; Assistant Director Eva Ocfemia, Environmental Management Bureau of DENR; Country Director Titon Mitra

Dir. Theresa Mundita Lim of BMB presenting the PBSAP to CSOs during the Zero Extreme Poverty 2030 Consultation-Workshop of NGOs on Environment (July 28-29, 2016)

Division Chief Armida Andres (Biodiversity Policy and Knowledge Management Division of BMB-DENR) reacting to the action plans formulated by the CSOs during the Zero Extreme Poverty 2030 Consultation-Workshop of NGOs on Environment (July 28-29, 2016)

The PBSAP Project Manager, Anabelle Plantilla (2nd from the right), participated in the first technical workshop on SDG indicators Last April 21, 2016 to ensure that the PBSAP targets and indicators are mainstreamed into the 17 SDGs and the 230 corresponding indicators. The workshop was organized by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

9. Key contact: Please provide the key contact for the solution. As an expert on this topic, we would be grateful if they key contact could create an NBSAP Forum member profile: http://nbsapforum.net/#create-account. This will allow users to get in touch with the key contact directly for advice and guidance, without having to publish their contact information.

1. Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim Director, Biodiversity Management Bureau Department of Environment and Natural Resources Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center Diliman, 1100 Quezon City T. +(63 2) 9246031-35 local 211-212 2. Ms. Armida P. Andres Chief, Biodiversity Policy and Knowledge Management Division Biodiversity Management Bureau F. +(63 2) 9240109 Email: nenengandres@yahoo.com.au

Upload the information here: http://nbsapforum.net/#add-best-practice. If you have questions, please contact Christina Supples, NBSAP Forum Moderator, at Christina.supples@undp.org. Her team may also be able to provide support as you curate the Best Practice.