By Madelaine B. Miraflor

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will seek a budget of P2 billion to intensify the government’s supervision over the protected areas (PA) located in different parts of the country.

DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez said the agency will make the request in order to implement recently passed Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System of 2018 (E-NIPAS).

“There is no final budget yet but we would need around P2 billion to identify more protected areas and how many people to be deployed per area,” Rodriguez said.

Occidental Mindoro Representative Josephine Ramirez-Sato has recently ordered stakeholders to fast-track the drafting of the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) for E-NIPAS.

She also reminded the stakeholders to focus on expanding the strict conservation areas and nature reserve using ecological parameters of conservation, review, assess, revise; conduct regular update on PA management plans; and reconstitute the Protected Area Management Boards (PAMB).

At present, the Philippines is facing problems of dwindling forest cover, massive degradation of coastal, marine and freshwater ecosystems, and a serious threat to the country’s endemic and unique species.

Philippine genetic resources are also being exploited and utilized by foreign entities, with local communities and the country still having no share from the benefits.

With the E-NIPAS Act, the Philippines added 94 legislated protected areas, transcending 15 regions and 53 provinces, and covering a total land area of 3.01 million hectares or approximately 10 percent of the country’s total land area.

In terms of financing, Sato said the E-NIPAS will increase the annual budget allocations from the national government, from P65 million annually to about P535 million per year, based on current annual average budgetary allocations of 5 million per protected area.