There is a pressing need to identify Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) adopting a human-rights-based approach to ensure that the most significant sites for biodiversity are included in the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and are subsequently protected under the national and local protected areas system. KBAs are a powerful tool that offers governments and development partners a way to prioritise their conservation actions such as designing Protected Areas, Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs), Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Areas and Territories (ICCA), and identification of other areas for enhanced protection and restoration. KBAs are sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. They offer a blueprint for scaling up action for our planet’s biodiversity and can play a key role in halting the loss of natural habitats, maintaining ecological integrity, and preventing the decline and extinction of species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published A Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs (KBA Standards) in 2016 [1] and then the Guidelines for using A Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs in 2020 [2]. In the Philippines, the KBA delineation started early. Legacy criteria used were on globally threatened species and irreplaceability (restricted range and congregatory species). In 2006 and 2009, the DENR-BMB together with Conservation International (CI) Philippines and the Haribon Foundation identified terrestrial and marine KBA using legacy criteria, respectively. The KBA sites delineated 228 sites total; 101 terrestrial and 77 marine sites [3].

Currently the World Database of KBAs (WDKBA)[4] recognises 139 KBA sites in the Philippines, including 117 Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). As of 2022, 42.53% of existing KBAs are Protected. 34.5% of currently identified trigger species are birds. Most of the marine KBAs were not included in the WDKBA perhaps because they were not submitted in the database or the data on the trigger species were unrecorded/unavailable when the assessments were made, or they would unlikely make the threshold given the global standards. 

In this regard, there is a need to review KBAs in the Philippines because they have all been identified on legacy criteria and need reassessing vis-a-vis the Global Standard. There is also a possibility that new KBA sites will be identified in this process. The data to be produced are critical not only in the delivery of 30x30, but also to achieve Goal A of the GBF through spatially explicit conservation and development planning, including Target 1 on biodiversity inclusive spatial planning. KBAs also support the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as indicators for SDGs 14 and 15 center on protected area coverage of KBAs in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. To ensure that there is long-term support for policy development and sustainability of protection and conservation mechanisms for these existing, expanded, or newly identified areas, a multi-sectoral body needs to be established to coordinate efforts across government agencies to provide technical and financial assistance for onsite stakeholders to mainstream management planning processes.

The KBA Partnership welcomes the Parties to the CBD to use the WDKBA to determine the most significant sites for the global persistence of biodiversity. NGO partners is supporting the DENR-BMB in a KBA training for specialists and key government officials as well as the updating of the KBA of the Philippines.

[1] https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2016-048.pdf

[2] https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2020-033-En.pdf

[3] https://fpe.ph/biodiversity.html/view/the-philippine-key-biodiversity-areas-kbas

[4] World Database on Key Biodiversity Areas: https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/kba-news/wdkba

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted last 19 December 2022 by the 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity to which the Philippines is a Party. One of the agreements of the GBF is the protection of 30% of the Earth’s land and oceans by the year 2030, KMGBF Target 3, or simply the 30x30.  The Philippines is committed to high-quality implementation of this 30x30 target. As Party to the CBD, the Philippines, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as facilitated by the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), has developed an initial roadmap that projects an area coverage of 18.5% of terrestrial and 16% of marine protected areas in the Philippines under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) by 2030. Moreover, the BMB is currently developing a national policy for the Identification and Recognition of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), in order to account for the contribution of these areas to the overall 30x30 commitment of the country.

To ensure the success of the KMGBF, in particular of the 30x30 in the Philippines, government agencies, non-government organizations, the academe, the private sector, and local communities must collaborate harmoniously towards long-lasting and concrete results. While the DENR takes the lead in advancing the biodiversity framework implementation in the country, the work will entail the substantive contribution of other government agencies that will look at specific aspects of enabling mechanisms, conservation science, resource management, regular monitoring and law enforcement, local and international relations, meaningful partnerships, and sustainable practices, among others. Each agency's expertise will be integral to the comprehensive success of this collective conservation endeavor.

The private sector, including industries, businesses, and local communities, plays an equally crucial role. Private entities often possess innovative technologies, financial resources, and expertise that can complement government initiatives. Collaborative partnerships between the private sector and government agencies and all other stakeholders can result in the development of sustainable practices that align conservation goals with economic activities. Visit the 30x30 Philippines website to learn more.