Category: FASPS-DENR

September 25, 2022

The Japan International Cooperation Agency and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (JICA-DENR) have turned over new access roads in Banaue, Mayoyao, and Lagawe in Ifugao Province which are seen to support upland farmers who also serve as stewards of vital forest resources.

The roads are critical to helping upland farmers transport their agroforestry goods easily, find new markets, and for people to access basic services such as hospital care and schools.

The roads form part of a total P1.8 billion JICA-DENR cooperation in the construction and rehabilitation of agroforestry support facilities under the Forestland Management Project (FMP).

The FMP, which began in 2012 in collaboration with JICA, has already dramatically contributed to conserving and rehabilitating over seventy thousand hectares of forestlands covering a total of 24 sub-watersheds in the provinces of Ifugao, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija and Iloilo.

JICA and DENR have partnered to save critical watershed systems in the Philippines as a move to address climate change and improve the livelihood of farmers and grassroots communities dependent on forest resources.

The Philippines has more than 130 watersheds critical to supplying water for irrigation, domestic, and industrial use.

Government data shows that watersheds account for an estimated 70% of the Philippines’ land area.

This vital connection between forestland management and water resources is highlighted in the cooperation of JICA and the DENR conserving the critical river basins in Upper Magat and Cagayan, Upper Pampanga, and Jalaur in Panay Island.

“We join the Philippine government in their self-help efforts to sustainably manage the Philippines’ natural resources for the greatest good of the greatest number of people in the long-term. Conserving vital forest resources such as watersheds is critical to mitigating climate change risks and giving Filipinos opportunities to improve their livelihood through sustainable forestland management,” said JICA Philippines Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema.

Takema said access roads help upland communities implement sustainable community-based forest management activities and protect and maintain a total of nearly twenty thousand hectares of forest areas in the Province of Ifugao.

Recognizing the value of watersheds to future generation, it comes as no surprise that FMP also encouraged the Philippine government to launch a national “Save Our Watershed” campaign in 2021 calling for stakeholders’ collaboration on watershed rehabilitation.

The DENR cited JICA’s support to establish watershed management councils under FMP to also involve people’s organizations, non-profit groups, and private sector in conserving this vital forest resource.

The FMP has two core components– comprehensive site development and technical assistance.

The comprehensive site development has several subprojects. These are mapping of watershed ecosystem, community organizing to strengthen partner people’s organizations and boost enterprise development in forest communities, site development or the rehabilitation of denuded areas in the watersheds by establishing forest, agroforestry, and soil and water conservation plantations.

FMP also involves policy making and construction of agroforestry support facilities (ASF) including access roads, irrigation pipelines, pathways and bridges.

JICA is keen to support the country’s forestry programs citing the need to give highest priority to sustainable forest management to ensure future generation reaping the benefits from the Philippines precious natural resources. (JICA)

September 21, 2022

Five sites in the Philippines including the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) have been named candidate for a marine protected area (MPA) management project in the ASEAN to be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Aside from TRNP in Sulu-Celebes Sea, the other candidates are the Ticao-Burias Pass Protected  Seascape (TBPPS); Agoo Damortis Protected Landscape & Seascape (ADPLS); Bani-Bolinao-Burgos-Infanta, Dasol-Agno MPAN (MPA Network);  and Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary(TIWS).

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has just convened stakeholders of the project “Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) in ASEAN” (ENMAPS). 

This is to gather and consolidate data as it is scheduled to submit its project proposal to its funder– the Global Environment Facility (GEF) by March 2023.

The sites being chosen for ENMAPS are biodiversity-rich sites that also face threats of environmental degradation. Beneficiaries of the project are Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Other ASEAN Large Marine Ecosystems  (LME) sites under the project are the Gulf of Thailand/Andaman Sea of Bay of Bengal, Indonesian Seas, and South China Sea.

The Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of ASEAN is known to have 20% of the world’s seagrass beds, a third of world’s mangrove forests with 45 to 75 true species, and a third of the world’s coral reefs with more than 75% of species of coral and 40% of of fish species.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been concerned that the world’s oceans have been reaching their ecological carrying capacity, a limit to their ability to produce fish for food.

“More than 75% of world fish stocks are already fully exploited, overexploirted, depleted or recovering from depletion,” according to GEF website.

ENMAPS aims to develop and improve the management of networks of MPAs and marine corridors within selected LMEs in the ASEAN region. It aims to conserve globally significant biodiversity and support for sustainable fisheries for people’s livelihood and other ecosystem goods and services.

The ASEAN ENMAPS project will also be executed by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in collaboration with the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB).

It also includes national technical working groups from DENR’s Foreign Assisted & Special Projects Services (FASPS); Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Fisheries Research & Devt. Institute, and PEMSEA (Partnerships in Environmental Management for the SEas of East Asia).

GEF has supported sustainable governance of 23 large marine ecosystems (LMEs) involving collaborative of work of many countries. The world’s oceans is known to be divided into 66 LMEs.

 This area covers 7.7 million square kilometers with 173,000 kilometers of coastline.
LMEs are huge marine areas extending beyond boundaries among countries which is why collaboration is important here. ENMAPS has a cost of $77.596 million. Of this, $12.548 million consists of GEF grant.

The procedure of UNDP aligns with the Social and Environmental Standards or SES.  This means that the project will integrate SES principles as it undertakes the project.  Such principles include human rights protection, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.  It will assess social and environmental issues in order to address risks.

The Ticao-Burias Pass Seascape has earlier been proposed to be an MPA with its plankton-rich waters.

“Species found there include whale sharks, thresher sharks, hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks, manta rays, dugong, various species of sea turtles, coral reefs, and the globally rare megamouth shark, but the pass also suffers from massive overfishing and poaching, as well as destructive blast fishing,” according to reports from Philippine News Agency.

The Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary has been proposed in 2015 to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is known to be the only “major nesting habitat of Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)  in the Philippines and the only major nesting ground in the whole ASEAN Region.”

The Agoo-Damortis Landscape and Seascape is known to have mangroves in the foreshore area which provide spawning and nursery grounds for fishes and crustaceans, and habitat for both local and migratory birds. (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)

September 16, 2022

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has supported policies for the protection of the Taklong and Tandog Group of Islands Natural Park (TTG-INP) in Guimaras, Iloilo and other Visayas provinces that are struck by severe typhoons as Yolanda and Odette.

In a partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany, DENR has started developing policies and legislative support on TTG-INP under the “Sustainable Coastal Protection through Biodiversity Conservation in Coastal Ecosystems Affected by Typhoons in the Philippines” (PROCOAST).

“The project aims to improve the protection of coastal areas and the people who live there from the effects of climate change,” according to Michelle I. Yu and Eddie B. Abugan Jr of DENR’s Foreign Assisted & Special Projects Services (FASPS).

PROCOAST has a total project cost of E4.8 million (P275.418 million) including funds from the German government and the Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It is implemented by Germany’s Deutsche Gessellschaft fur International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Also an executing partner is DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB).

Support for drafting national policies has been completed by PROCOAST on the following, according to the FASPS report:

1. Establishment of Taklong and Tandog Group of Islands Natural Park as component of NIPAS (National Integrated Protected Area System). House Bill 10643 seeks to declare TTG-INP as a protected area to be overseen by a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB). Among PAMB members are DENR Director-Region 6 (Western Visayas), Guimaras governor, Senate/Lower House representative, and representatives from Indigenous People, private sector, academe, and non-government organization.
2. Integrated Coastal Management Bill (ICM). The ICM (Senate Bill 1920, Senator Risa Hontiveros) seeks to promote sustainable development of coastal and areas –protecting the environment while providing livelihood for its nearby residents. It will provide support for local government units (LGUs) to come up with an ICM program.
   “A national ICM program will (enable us) to realize our goal of achieving food security, sustainable livelihood, poverty alleviation, and reduction of vulnerability to natural hazards while preserving ecological integrity,” according to SB 1920.
3. National Coastal Greenbelt Bill (NCGB). The NCGB (Senate Bill 1927, Senator Risa Hontiveras) seeks the protection and expansion of mangroves, salt marsh, and seagrass meadows all known as the blue carbon ecosystem. The bill noted the death of more than 6,200 people and four million who lost their homes due to super typhoon Yolanda.
   “As the Philippines’ 36,000 kilometer coastline is among the longest in the world, coastal greenbelts effectively mitigate the damaging impacts of waves and storm surges,” according to NCGB.
   “Disaster preparedness comprises a whole suite of items, such as early warning
   systems, elevated shelters, hard engineering (e.g., breakwaters) and green engineering/infrastructure.”
   Mangroves are estimated to have a value of $14,000-16,000 per hectare for its coastal protection value, according to NCGB.
   

PROCOAST will further document typhoon impacts on the targeted provinces– assessing their preparedness. It will support MPAs or marine protected on local ordinance formulation.

Among PROCOAST’s accomplishments so far are policy support for eight sites in Negros Occidental and Iloilo and tourism planning for Concepcion and Ajuy local government units. It has also produced a Mangrove Ecopark Manual.

It conducted social marketing for the Sagay Marine Reserve in Negros Occidental, Philippines’ largest marine reserve with 32,000 hectare-area, while protecting its reefs — Carbin and Maca Reefs.

It also did social marketing for the Tanon Strait Protected Seascape in Negros in Cebu which is known for whale and dolphin watching.

It has trained 9,000 individuals and 30 trainers on species on coastal protection.

PROCOAST has put up six Centers of Learning (COL) in an aim to establish venues for promoting innovative measures through learning visits, peer-to-peer exchanges, and training workshops. The COL’s establishment was with the aid of GIZ and Zoological Society of London.

The COLs have been established in Concepcion Marine Protected Area, Concepcion, Iloilo; Pedala Integrated Mangrove Ecopark Ajuy, Iloilo; and Leganes Integrated Katunggan Ecopark, Iloilo.

The main COL is in Taklong Island National Marine Reserve (TINMR), Nueva Valencia, Guimaras. Two other COLs include locations outside ILoilo– Sagay Marine Reserve, Negros Occidental and Katunggan it Ibajay, Aklan.

The TINMR covers 46 islands and the coastal barangays of La Paz and San Roque under Presidential Proclamation 525. Its 1,143-hectare area consists of 183 hectares of terrestrial area and 960 hectares of brackish and marine water.

“TINMR rich biodiversity prides itself of 64 species of birds, 16 species of reptiles, 8 species of mammals, 114 species of hard corals, 17 species of soft corals, and 9 species of seagrasses,” according to RA 11038.

The islets are covered with indigenous plant species such as Molave, Magtalisay, Pandan Dagat, Kamachile, Batino, Passi, Duhat, and Pitogo.

Among the mangrove forests are Bacauan scientifically called Avicennia with specific species such as Api-api, Bungalon, Pagatpat, and Bantigue.

Wildlife species inhabiting the area are Island Flying Fox, Western Visayas Water Monitor and bird species including Philippine Pied Fantail, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Olive-backed Sunbird, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Pied Triller, White-collared Kingfisher, Asian Glossy Starling, Large-billed Crow, Blue Rock Thrush, Common Emerald Dove, White-breasted Woodswallow, Philippine Coucal, Philippine Night Jar, and Black-naped Tern.

Some of the birds there are threatened species such as the Philippine Megapode or Tabon Scrub Fowl which is often foraging and laying eggs in Taklong and in Apugan Islands with their nesting sites sighted in Kaliruhan.

Endemic Philippine Ducks or Anas luzonica have also been located at the Suba Malawig mangrove area.

PROCOAST has extensive coverage of coastal protection in the Visayas including Region 6 (Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Iloilo, Capiz, Negros Occidental) and Region 7 (Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Siquijor). (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)

September 13, 2022

The Cold Chain Inovation Hub (CCIH), a one-stop shop for technology transfer,capacity building, research, and education, has been launched at the TESDA Complex in Taguig City, showcasing best low-carbon technology and energy-efficient technologies.
   Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Service (DENR-FASPS) Director Al O. Orolfo hailed the occasion as “momentous” as it helps enable Philippines to meet ozone depleting substance (ODS) phaseout commitments.
   The CCIH, the physical platform of the DENR’s Global Partnership for Improving the Food Cold Chain in the Philippines (FCC) project, will serve as a venue for global partnership among the public and private sectors and technology providers.  
   CCIH will play a key role in TESDA’s (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) upskilling of the labor force in green industries and green jobs of the commercial and industrial refrigeration sector.
   The building features a workshop and exhibit area, training room and a cold storage room for technology display. This initiative is made possible through the FCC project that is implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), TESDA, and the DENR.
   The event showed various technologies from the industry such as the Hydrocarbon Freezer and Chiller Display Cases for Commercial Food Retail (Epta), the R600a Solar Driven Refrigerator (Vestfrost Solutions), and the Selection of Tools and Machines (Magic-Aire Industries, Inc.).
   These would form part of the initial batch of equipment to be showcased in the hub to demonstrate energy efficient and climate-friendly refrigeration with low to zero global warming potential.
   Several batches of equipment and refrigeration systems are expected to arrive in the CCI Hub until September 2022, all of which exemplify “next generation” cold chain solutions.
   The launch also presented networking and collaboration opportunities through exhibits by Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Technicians for Development of the Philippines (RACTAP), Women in Refrigeration and Air-conditioning (WOVRAC), Magic Aire Industries, DELSA, Danfoss Philippines, Mayekawa Philippines Corporation, GEA Philippines, Epta Refrigeration Philippines, Cold Front Technologies Asia, Unimagma Philippine, Koppel, and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

FASPS’s Orolfo noted that while cold chains are vital for the economy, it must be developed in a sustainable and climate-friendly way and aligned with the country’s commitment to the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
   TESDA Director General Isidro S. Lapeña highlighted the role of the hub in providing livelihood for Filipinos by training and upgrading their skills in priority sectors that include commercial and industrial refrigeration.
   UNIDO Country Representative Teddy G. Monroy underscored the role of innovation in the cold chain sector to address the challenges in food and energy security due to global events such as the war in Ukraine, the Covid 19 pandemic, and climate change.
   The Philippines has a commitment under the  Montreal Protocol to phase out the production of  ozone depleting substances which includes chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) which has been banned since 1990s.  Also restricted refrigerant are hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) that contain chlorine, like CFCs, which are destroying the ozone layer.
   The FCC is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a co-financing from the Philippine government.     (FCC Project/ Mae Valdez)  

Photo: TESDA Director General Isidro S. Lapena (Left) and DENR-FASPS Director Al O. Orolfo (Right) hold the ribbon to mark the launch of the CCI Hub

August 24, 2022

A beekeeping project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Mt. Hamiguitan sanctuary has tapped the Green Solutions Agricultural Farming Training Center (GSAFTC) to bring beekeeping expertise in the industry teeming with international market potential.

The Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) looks forward to improved crop production for its honey enterprise in its farms in Brgys. San Isidro and General Generoso, Davao Oriental.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between MHRWS Protected Area Management Board and GSAFTC to expand collaboration on trainings, marketing-promotional work, experimental, and technology -demonstration on beekeeping.

The beekeeping livelihood program is a special project called “Beekeeping as Bio-diversity-Friendly Community-Based Enterprise in MHRWS” of the DENR as part of forest conservation.

Mt. Hamiguitan is a wildlife sanctuary recognized by UNESCO (Unied Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization) to have a universal value. It is home to globally threatened flora and fauna eight of which are found only Mt. Hamiguitan itself.

The beekeeping project in Mt Hamiguitan ensures the surrounding communities have a livelihood so that they do not resort to illegal forest activities around Mt. Hamiguitan.

Beekeeping is also known to have the very important “pollinating” function in the ecosystem, enhancing environmental balance. It contributes to rapid generation of forest reserves.

The government sees a good market potential for beekeeping products (pollen, propolis, beeswax, and value added products including honey wine, honey and propolis-based soap, massage oil, shampoo, and ointment). The Philippines even imports honey. Local producers may be able to fill that import volume.

With a more dependable livelihood and income, residents of the buffer zone of Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) are turning to become strong forest guards who help conserve forests and biodiversity of the protected site.

People’s Organization to be benefited by the project are the Progressive Organic Farmers and Fisherfolks Towards Ecology Conservation of Talisay (PROFTECT) of San Isidro, Davao Oriental and PO Sergio Osmena Rattan Association of Serbio Osmena, Governor Generoso.

The beekeeping project has been financed under DENR’s special project fund supervised by the Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service (FASPS).
The project already identified two potential expansion sites in Sto Rosario, San Isidro and Macambol, City of Mati.

The project was compelled to transfer the beekeeping activity to the GSAFTC site which serves as the recovery area for the propagation of the bee colonies. This is because an infestation of the small beehive beetles occurred due to the erratic whether. This caused the decline of colonies from 241 to 89.

Part of the project’s target is to come up with local policies on biodiversity friendly enterprise and sustainable honey production. As such, an ordinance for the preservation, habitat protection, and collection of bee products from the wild has been drafted together with the legislative members from municipal and barangay levels, Davao Oriental State University, Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and municipal tourism offices.

The DTI and Department of Science & Technology (DOST) also facilitated a training of beneficiaries on handling and packaging of bee products.

Mt. Hamiguitan

Mt. Hamiguitan is being strictly protected as it faces threats of conversion of land for agriculture. There are also mining threats outside the site.

Potential risks from climate change and increasing tourism are now being addressed by DENR.

Mt. Hamiguitan is known for its highly diverse mountain ecosystem that makes it home to a number of endemic species known only in Mindanao and particularly found only in Mt. Hamiguitan.

“The combination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within the boundaries of the property and the large number of species inhabiting each makes the MHRWS home to a total of 1,380 species with 341 Philippine endemics,” according to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

That includes critically endangered species — the iconic Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). Also considered endangered are the Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), the trees Shorea polysperma, Shorea astylosa and the orchid Paphiopedilum adductum.

“Its high level of endemicity is well exemplified by the proportion of its amphibian (75% endemic) and reptile (84% endemic) species. The fragile tropical ‘bonsai’ forest that crowns the MHRWS epitomizes nature’s bid to survive in adverse conditions,” UNESCO said.

Scientists believe there may be more undiscovered unique flora and fauna in the mountain range.

“In the lower elevations the agro-ecosystem and remnants of dipterocarp forests house some 246 plant species including significant numbers of endemics such as the globally threatened dipterocarps of the genus Shorea.”

“The dipterocarp forest ecosystem is characterized by the presence of large trees and is home to 418 plant and 146 animal species, which include threatened species such as the Mindanao Bleeding-heart dove (Gallicolumba crinigera) and Philippine warty pig (Sus philippensis).” (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)

August 19, 2022

A people’s organization in Hingyon, Ifugao, the Greender Pasture Ad Holnad Inc. (GPAHI) is now benefitting from an agroforestry farm-to-table tablea (chocolate-cooking delicacies) enterprise that they developed under a JICA-funded forestry project.

Actual site monitoring activities in Hingyon, Ifugao was held by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) delegates in its funded projects, particularly the Forestland Management Project (FMP) in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

JICA was earlier constrained to do site monitoring by the Covid 19 pandemic for two years. After a long wait, JICA resumed its project site visits starting in the Ifugao, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

FMP has enabled GPAHI to produce farm-to-table tablea using cacao from its plantations. It has also established a cacao processing facility for enterprise development.

GPAHI has been one of the successful people’s organizations (PO) supported by JICA.
From 2013, GPAHI has established and maintained a Site Development (SD) area of 200 hectares– kickstarted livelihoods such as ginger production, and established swine and chicken raising as additional sources of income.

“The PO’s vision for the future carries an intergenerational value – for the future generations to benefit from their efforts. Therefore, sustainability is integral to their strategic plans for the conservation and sustainability of our natural resources while uplifting women in their communities,” according to the DENR project “Save our Watershed.”

During the JICA site monitoring in Ifugao in June this year, the Boliwong Organization of Muyung Protectors, Inc. (BOMPI) also showcased the PO’s fruit trees intercropped with bananas which are both bearing fruits at this stage.

A line up of activities was prepared by FMP-CAR for the visit which mainly involves a turn-over ceremony of an FMP-funded access road to the local government unit of Brgy.Montabiong in the municipality of Lagawe.

A monitoring of banana plantation and enterprise development activities of a partner PO of the Lagawe subwatershed was also made.

The JICA team also and inspected the Subproject Site Management Office (SUSIMO) of the Lagawe subwatershed and Provincial Project Management Office (PPMO) of FMP Ifugao.

The main purpose of the three-day site visit is for JICA to witness first hand project gains at the field level to further support the decision of the funding agency in granting the request for project extension of an additional year or until July 2023.

Consequently, DENR’s Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service (FASPS) led by its new director, Al Orolfo, made sure its technical assistance to the activity to affirm its support to the project in the region.

The turn-over ceremony of the Rehabilitation of the Montabiong Access Road was further graced by the Embassy of Japan contingents led by its First Secretary, Tachikawa Junpei.

Part of the ceremony’s key message of JICA representative, Hashizume Takuya, is urging “LGU officials and partner POs to take care and maintain the 4.5–kilometer infrastructure in order to ensure longer utilization of the subproject” and achieve “improved access to our critical subwatershed in order to sustain reforestation, conservation, and protection efforts”.

Further, Engr. Ralph C. Pablo, the Regional Executive Director of DENR-CAR, reminded the community people of Montabiong to “strike a balance” between socio-economic and watershed rehabilitation and conservation activities as in the end humanity cannot survive a heavily degraded environment with the emphasis that “there is no planet B”.

FMP is a 10-year project of DENR ending in 2022. It integrates conservation and development activities beneficial to local communities. Its beneficiaries are 147 People’s Organizations (POs) within 24 sub-watershed areas including those in Ifugao. The total project investment cost is estimated at P5.870 billion.

August 16, 2022

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has graced the turnover of an access road and a banana plantaiton and development enterprise project in Brgy. Montabiong, Lagawe in Ifugao Province showing significant gains in its funded Forestland Management Project (FMP).

Actual site monitoring activities by JICA to its funded projects such as the Forestland Management Project (FMP) was constrained by the Covid 19 pandemic for two (2) years. After a long wait, JICA resumed its project site visits starting in the Ifugao, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) on June 13, 2022.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has led the project implementation of FMP.

The access road plays an important role in the socio-economic progress of the town as it leads to the center of Brgy. Montabiong. It also serves as a farm-to-market road.
Beneficiary and partner of the banana enterprise and road are peoples organizations (POs) of the Lagawe subwatershed.

JICA also had an inspection of the Subproject Site Management Office (SUSIMO) of the Lagawe subwatershed and Provincial Project Management Office (PPMO) of FMP Ifugao.

The main purpose of the three-day site visit is for JICA to witness first hand project gains at the field level to further support the decision of the funding agency in granting the request for project extension of an additional year or until July 2023.

Consequently, DENR’s Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service (FASPS) led by its new director, Al Orolfo, made sure its technical assistance to the activity to affirm its support to the project in the region.

The turn-over ceremony of the Rehabilitation of the Montabiong access road was further graced by the Embassy of Japan contingents led by its First Secretary, Tachikawa Junpei.

Part of the ceremony’s key message of JICA representative, Hashizume Takuya, is urging “LGU officials and partner POs to take care and maintain the 4.5 km infrastructure in order to ensure longer utilization of the subproject” and achieve “improved access to our criticalsubwatershed in order to sustain reforestation, conservation, and protection efforts”.

Further, Engr. Ralph C. Pablo, the regional executive director of DENR-CAR, reminded the community people of Montabiong to “strike a balance” between socio-economic and watershed rehabilitation and conservation activities as in the end humanity cannot survive a heavily degraded environment with the emphasis that “there is no planet B”.

The subsequent activities focused on visiting the PO office and tree and agroforestry plantations of the Greener Pasture Ad Holnad, Inc. (GPAHI), specifically beholding how agroforestry farm-to-table tablea are made possible by the organization through its cacao plantations all the way to its established enterprise development cacao processing facility.

The Boliwong Organization of Muyung Protectors, Inc. (BOMPI) on the other hand, showcased to the honored guests the PO’s fruit trees intercropped with bananas which are both bearing fruits at this stage.

Inspection of project offices and interviews with project staff gave JICA a glimpse on how day-to-day operations are made by the DENR to pursue project activities albeit now in a more fast-paced manner in view of tight project implementation timeline.

From these, issues and concerns were discussed and recommendations by the site visit team were formulated to overcome them.

Undoubtedly, the lessons learned gained from the visit such as PO field practices on project implementation, their networking and linkaging efforts and most of all their enduring visions for their communities and the environment highlighted the event. Takuya, as part of his concluding field impressions, cannot help but convey his congratulations for the exemplified humble but growing successes of the project in the region.

Pablo is pleased that CAR has been selected as JICA’s postpandemic pilot area for its project site visits which is also in time for FMP’s 10th year of implementation.

With the naturally long-term nature of forestry projects and with the promising results seen on the ground, the region hopes to have provide appropriate impetus for the funding agency, JICA, to affirm the request for project extension soon. – Ara Gendrano (PEO, FMP CAR).

July 26, 2022

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) held an inception workshop as it prepares for an extensive GEF-funded ASEAN collaborative project on Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) which face serious threats amid their vast marine resources.

The project “Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) in ASEAN” (ENMAPS) is being deliberated for implementation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Director Al Orolfo of the DENR Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Service (FASPS) joined the National Inception Workshop at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Quezon City, Metro Manila on July 13, 2022, stressing project importance to sustainable development. LMEs in ASEAN are a huge source of livelihood and jobs for struggling fishers.

The workshop aimed to inform the stakeholders from the national and regional government agencies, private sector, non-government organizations and academe about the project and to validate/gather inputs to the project concept that will be elaborated during the full proposal development.

The Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of ASEAN is known to have 20% of the world’s seagrass beds, a third of world’s mangrove forests with 45 to 75 true species, and a third of the world’s coral reefs with more than 75% of species of coral and 40% of of fish species.

ENMAPS will involve at least five countries in ASEAN including Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and South China Sea.

The workshop also provided the opportunity to discuss the project partners’ potential role and contribution in project implementation.
The ASEAN ENMAPS project will be executed by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

(ACB) in collaboration with the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) under the Global Environment (GEF) Facility funding.
It aims to develop and improve the management of networks of MPAs and marine corridors within selected Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) in the ASEAN region for the conservation of globally significant biodiversity and support for sustainable fisheries and other ecosystem goods and services.

As the oversight office for foreign-assisted and special projects, FASPS Director Orolfo delivered the closing message highlighting the importance of the establishment of MPA and the management of its network as an effective approach to address challenges such as climate change, marine pollution and biodiversity loss.

“The project is expected to complement our existing efforts in the Philippines towards productive partnerships with the neighboring countries in terms of scaling up management under the regional MPAN approach,” said Orolfo.

GEF has been concerned that the world’s oceans have been reaching their ecological carrying capacity, a limit to their ability to produce fish for food.

“More than 75% of world fish stocks are already fully exploited, overexploirted, depleted or recovering from depeletion,” according to GEF website.

GEF has supported sustainable governance of 23 large marine ecosystems (LMEs) involving collaborative of work of many countries. The world’s oceans is known to be divided into 66 LMEs.

This area covers 7.7 million square kilomters with 173,000 kilometers of coastline.

LMEs are huge marine areas extending beyond boundaries among countries which is why collaboration is important here.

ENMAPS has a cost of $77.596 million. Of this, $12.548 million consists of GEF grant. (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)
PHOTO General characteristics of an LME. NOAA

July 21, 2022

A Korean National Assembly (KNA) representative and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are exploring a collaboration on the use of COMSAT (communications satellite) to monitor and protect the environment.

KNA Member Congresswoman JO Myung-hee paid last July 13 a courtesy visit to the DENR in a pivotal meeting to introduce state-the-art technologies on the collection of data to monitor environmental conditions on the ground.

In her visit, she was officially welcomed by DENR-Foreign Assisted and Special Services (FASPS) Director Dr. Al O. Orolfo who acknowledged satellite technologies and high resolution images’ significant role in the management and protection of natural resources and environment.

Other senior officials present at the courtesy visit were Lawyer Ernesto D. Adobo, Jr., Officer-in-Charge (OIC), DENR and Maria Elena A. Morallos-Manila, Director of the Knowledge and Information Systems Service (KISS).

Present also in the meeting is Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Philippines Office Assistant Country Director Kim Younlee.

JO explained that in Korea, they already use two systems for real-time monitoring of the environmental and weather conditions through satellite imagery and meteorological stations.

DENR OIC Secretary Adobo expressed DENR’s gratitude to the support and
assistance extended by the Korean Government in the environment sector of the country, reported FASPS’s John Darren M. Chua.

There are two ongoing KOICA-funded projects with the DENR. One of these is the Establishment of Integrated Water Resources Management and Information System for the Pampanga River Basin Phase 2 (IWRMIS II) implemented with the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).

The other is the Enhancement of Marine Litter Management in Manila Bay (EMLM) to be spearheaded by the Manila Bay Coordinating Office (MBCO).

JO is looking forward to this collaboration as well with other Philippine government agencies such as the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and PAGASA.

At present, the Philippines capability to monitor ground and surface conditions are through local weather stations of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Geographic Information System (GIS) which generates and analyses data dependent on a particular location or coordinates on the ground.

The Korean technologies will strengthen Philippines’ capabilities the the use of COMSAT data generated through orbital satellites which provide high resolution images of the terrains.

Representative JO Myung-hee is Korea’s first doctorate degree holder in the Remote Sensing Area and is recognized for her contribution in the development of talent and advance technology in the field of satellite images and geospatial data. (John Darren M. Chua)

June 27, 2022

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched two special projects involving the conservation of “endangered” Philippine Tarsiers in Mt. Matutum, South Cotabato and the valuation of carbon input in reforested and secondary forest in Mt Landscape, Zamboanga del Sur.

The special projects are under DENR’s Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service (FASPS) where DENR shells out its own fund for special conservation programs.
The study on the Philippine Tarsier in Mt. Matutum is in partnership with the University of the Philippines- Diliman. It aims to further understand the ecology and behavior of Philippine Tarsiers within Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL) to enhance and supplement conservation efforts in the Tarsier Sanctuary.

The project on the Mount Timolan Protected Landscape will be carried out by the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Government College.

It will study differences in the production and decomposition for quantifying carbon input in reforested and secondary forest in Mt. Timolan Protected Landscape.

The Philippine tarsier was classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1986, 1988, and 1990.

In 2008, it was reclassified as near threatened. While tarsiers have been known to be popular in Bohol, the nocturnal (active at night) primate endemic to the Philippines has also been found in Siargao Island, Maripipi Island, Dinagat Island, Samar, Leyte, and Basilan.

Tarsiers are one of the smallest primates (where monkeys and the human species belong). Their height ranges from only 3.35 to 6.30 inches. They weigh from 80 to 160 grams. They are arboreal (tree-living) creatures.

The Mt. Timolan Protected Landscape, spanning over 1,994,79 hectares and a buffer zone of 695.39 hectares, is an important watershed.

It supports river systems that are sources of irrigation for many rice farms. Eighty percent of Mt Timolan’s landscape consists of dipterocarp forests. Seven percent is made up of man-made forest plantations of Gmelina and Acacia, according to the Philippine Clearing House Mechanism for Biodiversity.

Acting Secretary Jim O. Sampulna said during the launching of the two special projects at the Radisson Hotel that the projects’ signing of memorandum of agreement indicates that successful partnerships lead to attaining shared goals on sustainable development. The partnerships extend to international agencies, the academe, and other government and civic institutions.

“The project in Mt. Timolan will surely help in achieving the country’s international commitment in climate change,” Sampulna said. (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)