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Thursday, February 9, 2017
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THE SIGHTING of a Brent goose in Barangay Hinactacan, La Paz, Iloilo City has exciting implications. For one, it is the first recorded sighting of this bird in the country. This rare migratory stop also indicates the richness of the village’s wetland and calls for its conservation and protection.
The country has close to a hundred protected areas. But great challenges face us in the task of protecting and preserving our rich biodiversity. Local communities and stakeholders should do more to participate in the management and protection of our wetlands, forests, oceans, flora, fauna and the indigenous peoples that reside in these sanctuaries.
Strengthening our National Integrated Protected Areas System could be a step in the right direction. The NIPAS Act established a system of protected areas within the classification of national park as provided for in the Constitution. The system consists of all areas in the Philippines proclaimed, designated or set aside by law, presidential decree, presidential proclamation or executive order as any of the following: national park, game refuge, bird and wildlife sanctuary, wilderness area, strict nature reserve, watershed, mangrove reserve, fish sanctuary, natural and historical landmark, protected and managed landscape / seascape as well as identified virgin forests before the effectivity of the NIPAS Act.
The Philippines is the “most diverse among the mega diverse” countries of the world, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “It is but right that we continue protecting and conserving our rich natural environment,” says its Region 6 director Jim Sampulna. Yes, since 1992, 113 have been declared through presidential proclamations as protected areas under the NIPAS. However, only 13 protected areas have finally proceeded to be legislated as such in the more than 20 years since the NIPAS Act was enacted.
It is imperative that the proclaimed protected areas are declared as such through congressional fiat as required by the NIPAS Act and pursuant to the directive of the Constitution. This will ensure, among others, access to funds that should be used for conservation and protection measures, and the prosecution of prohibited acts that endanger or destroy our protected areas.
We must enhance conservation efforts for unique, rare and threatened species of plants and animals and their habitat, thus ensuring the sustainable use of our natural resources and cultural diversity.
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