Shared Solutions for a Shared Future: BMB Launches the Updated PBSAP 2024-2040 at the 32nd Philippine Biodiversity Symposium

Iloilo City- The Biodiversity Management Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-BMB) launches the updated Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) 2024-2040, along with the formal turnover of the updated Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Map, during the 32nd year of the annual Philippine Biodiversity Symposium in Iloilo City on August 12-15, 2025. The Symposium’s theme is  One Future: Biodiversity, Climate, and Health,

Through the DENR Administrative Order No. 2025-23, signed and approved on June 9, 2025, the updated PBSAP is set to be implemented across government levels and sectors.

Anchored on five thematic areas: Ecosystems Conservation; Wildlife and Species Conservation;

Addressing Impacts on Biodiversity; Business and Biodiversity; and Means of Implementation—the PBSAP outlines 23 national biodiversity targets, including the global “30×30” goal.

It charts an ambitious path towards a nature-positive Philippines. By 2040, the plan seeks to protect 24% of the country’s terrestrial and 16% of its coastal and marine areas—covering 7.44
million hectares of Philippine land area and 35.24 million hectares of Philippine sea. This is through the expansion of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) and
recognition of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs), such as Indigenous Community Conserved Areas, local conservation areas, critical habitats, and Ramsar wetlands.
On the KBA Map, this is a vital planning tool that identifies the country’s most biologically significant ecosystems, including terrestrial forests, mangroves, freshwater systems, and coastal
marine areas. It will also serve as a guide to multiple approaches for financing, protection and management, engaging all sectors of society to secure functional natural ecosystems that
promote climate resilience, water security, and disaster risk reduction.

The PBSAP and the KBA Map are supported through the National Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration and Preventing Species Extinction Prevention (NAPERSEP). Among the 52,000
species described in the Philippines, around 2,000 species are threatened flora and fauna with extinction. The Philippine eagle, Tamaraw, Philippine pangolin, Philippine cockatoo, Philippine
freshwater crocodile, marine turtles, and dugong,  are several iconic species categorized as threatened.

Through the NAPERSEP, actions and resources are mobilized across the private sector, communities, and civil society organizations. This supports the PBSAP targets in achieving zero
species extinction through conservation efforts for species at risk of extinction.

Developed through a multistakeholder process, the PBSAP builds on the Philippines’ commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), envisioning that by 2040, the
Philippine biodiversity will be valued, enhanced, effectively conserved, and managed through inclusive and transformative actions delivering climate-resilient ecosystems and sustained
benefits to Filipino communities.

BMB Assistant Director Mariglo Rosaida I. Laririt echoed the call for collective action, highlighting the important role of the Filipino youth.

“We need the passion and drive of the younger generations, especially in harnessing modern technologies for biodiversity conservation. The economic potential of biodiversity-based
industries from our genetic and biological resources is vast. Your ideas and commitment can drive the breakthroughs we need,” Laririt said.