Before the CEPF initiative in the Philippines Hotspot, the National Biodiversity Conservation Priority-Setting Program convened a series of regional consultation workshops to identify, assess, and prioritize geographic areas that best represent biodiversity of the different centers of endemism in the country and to formulate the strategy and actions needed to conserve Philippine biodiversity. The Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (PAWB-DENR), together with Conservation International - Philippines and the Biodiversity Conservation Program of the University of the Philippines' Center for Integrative and Development Studies, spearheaded this process. Workshops were held in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, following 11 months of data collection, compilation, processing, and mapping. The resulting information served as basis for identification of priority conservation sites. The workshops involved site verifications and validation of the maps generated by the working groups, further data collection, identification of criteria for prioritization, and nomination of regional representatives for the national workshop. At least 40 local stakeholders participated in each workshop. The program culminated in the National Biodiversity Conservation Priority-Setting Workshop with participation by more than 200 local and international scientists and more than 70 institutions representing the government, NGO, academic, and donor communities, the private sector, and People's Organizations.
The workshops identified 19 terrestrial and nine marine regions (corridors) as top priority areas for biodiversity conservation in the country.
Initiated by the CEPF, additional stakeholder consultation workshops produced the results reflected in this ecosystem profile. The first workshop (August 7, 2001) identified three priority regions for CEPF funding. The workshop also identified the threats to biodiversity in each of these areas, and the root causes of those threats. More than 85 participants representing national government agencies, provincial governments, national and local NGOs, and academic institutions attended this workshop.
The prioritization process used the following criteria:
- species richness, uniqueness, and distinctiveness
- habitat diversity
- species and habitat status
- utility and value in terms of tourism, economic activity, indigenous peoples, and research
- manageability - in terms of size, political situation, local government capacity, number of NGOs present, and level of community awareness
- conservation efforts - extent and quality of efforts already in progress
Within the priority biogeographic regions, the participants in the stakeholder workshop recommended that CEPF focus on:
- Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor
- Eastern Mindanao Corridor
- Palawan Corridor
These landscapes feature the largest tracts of remaining forest in the country and a diverse range of habitat types. Not surprisingly, these three regions hold the country's greatest species richness and diversity, accounting more than 70% of its plant species. Moreover, these corridors present some of the most promising opportunities for reconnecting forest and habitat fragments isolated by land use conversion, forest extraction, and other anthropogenic activities.
While the selected regions cover a major portion of the Philippines' biodiversity, the stakeholder review decisions will not protect all species with the highest probability of extinction. Therefore, it was recommended that emergency measures be put in place to ensure that some CEPF funding be available for species conservation throughout the Philippines Hotspot, with particular emphasis on West Visayas (particularly Negros, Panay and Cebu), Lake Lanao in central Mindanao, and the remaining lowland forest of Mindoro and the Sulus.
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