Conservation efforts must go on despite the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Philippines, one of 17 megadiverse countries worldwide that is home to a variety of endemic species that are threatened by human habitation.
“We must act now despite the global pandemic,” said Grace Diamante, Executive Director of Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (MBCFI), during a virtual advocacy event conducted recently by the Manila House Private Members Club.
Diamante cited biodiversity statistics that are deemed unprecedented in human history: 32 percent of the world's forests destroyed, 83 percent of freshwater species declining, and 23 percent of land areas becoming unproductive due to land degradation.
“Wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must, and we will,” she added.
Diamante was joined by Malampaya Foundation, Inc. (MFI) Executive Director Karen Agabin, MFI Marine Biologist and Conservation Manager Pacifico Beldia II, and Western Philippines University Professor Dr. Lota Creencia in discussing terrestrial and marine conservation efforts in Palawan, Mindoro, and the Verde Island Passage.
Since 2013, MFI has helped establish and manage over 335,000 hectares of marine-protected areas (MPAs) and marine management zones with communities, local government units, and national agencies.
MBCFI, on the other hand, seeks to conserve the unique and threatened environment, biodiversity, and natural resources of Mindoro Island, which is recognized as one of the global biodiversity conservation priority areas, particularly in terms of the number of endemic species, diversity of habitats, and degrees of threats.
“The marine ecosystem is among the most productive in the world that cannot be matched by engineering or technical solutions in providing various direct and indirect ecosystems services such as food, materials, medicine, shoreline protection, tourism benefits, cultural value, and even oxygen. More than 50 percent of our oxygen comes from the ocean,” Agabin said.
There are reported sightings of returning endangered species in MPAs that have been effectively managed after five years, like the Napoleon wrasse in Coron, she said.
“Black-tipped sharks and dolphins are also returning to areas that are well-protected,” she added.
Most notable is the return of the Philippines’ giant clam Tridacna gigas, declared locally extinct in the '80s. Over 3,000 giant clam shells have been restocked since 2019.
In Mindoro, MBCFI is working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Tamaraw Conservation Program and their Rangers and Wardens to conserve the Tamaraw or the Mindoro dwarf buffalo, of which only an estimated 480 are left in the world.
Other conservation efforts include the completion of MBCFI’s propagation of the endangered Philippine Teak at Ilin Island, Occidental Mindoro in 2019 and the ongoing construction of the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Center in Puerto Galera.
The Philippines is part of the six-million-square-meter Coral Triangle which is the underwater equivalent of the Amazon in terms of marine flora and fauna. Of the six countries in the Coral Triangle, the Philippines has the greatest number of species per unit area according to marine science studies from 2005 to 2013.
