LocationsBy Angelique Ogena, BIOFIN Philippines, Information and Communications Assistant
Negros Occidental Provincial Government continues to carry the torch for biodiversity financing
October 13, 2022
BIOFIN Philippines with Governor Lacson together with representatives from the Office of the Provincial Governor in Bacolod, Negros Occidental (L-R: April Love Wee (Mambukal Resort), Catherine Balaza (PENRO Negros Occidental), Lisa Paguntalan (PhilBio), Kamille Rosales (BIOFIN PH), Governor Lacson, Anabelle Plantilla (BIOFIN PH), Maria Elena San Jose (PEMO), Aldwin Legaspi (PEMO)
Lisa Paguntalan/Philbio
Negros Occidental, 8 September 2022 – The newly re-elected Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson of Negros Occidental committed to pursue biodiversity financing within the province during the courtesy visit of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the United Nations Development Programme Philippines team, together with the Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc (PhilBio).
During the meeting, the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental expressed support by ensuring the allocation of budgets for biodiversity programs and projects within their province. Governor Lacson renewed and sealed his commitment that “the province will continue to support biodiversity financing for the conservation and protection of the environment.”
BIOFIN is also working with the Provincial Government of neighboring Negros Oriental to ensure that biodiversity is mainstreamed in the local plans and programs of the province.
The Local Government Code of 1991 or RA 7160 empowers local government units (LGU) to have meaningful autonomy while gearing to attain its full development and self-reliance so that they can become effective partners in attaining national goals. The Code provides fiscal powers and authority to government officials to propose, appropriate, and release funds to agencies, office programs and projects. Seeing this function as an entry point, BIOFIN has been working with LGUs since 2016 to mainstream biodiversity in local plans and programs, thus ensuring regular financing. The localization of the BIOFIN methodology at the provincial level was an eye-opener for partners not only from the Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental provinces, but also for PhilBio, BIOFIN’s NGO partner that assists the LGUs in preparing their biodiversity finance plans based on their provincial biodiversity strategy and action plans (BSAP).
Representatives of the Province Negros Occidental working on their provincial targets and identifying their contribution to the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) during the first Negros Island Biodiversity Strategy and Action Planning workshop with Provincial Environment Management Office as lead facilitators last April 2018.
PhilBio
In the beginning, developing finance plans within the context of biodiversity financing is a relatively new undertaking for the provinces and PhilBio. After a series of trainings and consultations between 2016 and 2019, the initiatives bore a more comprehensive costing estimate for the BSAPs and a better analysis of local policies. Identification of entry points, such as the planning process and budget, that have a strategic potential in terms of mainstreaming and converging biodiversity conservation with other sectors within the LGU structure were also identified.
In 2018, both provinces have completed the Negros Island Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and its accompanying Negros Island Biodiversity Finance Plan. Both provinces have identified several finance solutions that will be piloted this year with assistance from BIOFIN and PhilBio. These are:
- Maximizing locally available funds;
- Accessing national government funds through alignment and synergy (alignment of their BSAP to the Regional Development Plan and to the DENR workplan);
- Engaging the private sector (corporate social responsibility);
- Tapping earmarked funds (ER 1-94); and
- Generating revenues through environmental fees (i.e. Tourism Ecological Fee).
Meanwhile, of the 20 biodiversity provincial targets of Negros Occidental, 70% have on-going activities with budget allocations. One of these is the allocation of PhP 20 million annually in the Provincial Development and Investment Plan 2020-2024 for a program on the Southwestern Negros Key Biodiversity Area. To date, the program has benefitted 101 individuals within the local community and has resulted to the planting of a total of 170,000 seedlings, of which 155,000 are native seedlings. “The communities who were directly hired to plant the seedlings and provided with livelihoods benefited greatly from this program especially when Typhoon Odette came in December of last year. For instance, they used whatever money they saved from their incomes to rebuild their houses felled by the Typhoon,” PhilBio Executive Director Ms. Lisa Paguntalan reported.
In Negros Oriental, 18 of the 111 actions are on-going. Biodiversity programs and activities have been incorporated in the new Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan 2020-2026 which saw an increased allocation from PhP 300,000 to PhP 3 million. In addition, the provincial government of Negros Oriental hired a total of 95 Forest Guards or Bantay-Gubat, 30 of whom are now tasked to protect the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes and Mount Kanlaon Natural Parks for 2022.
Meanwhile, of the 20 biodiversity provincial targets of Negros Occidental, 70% have on-going activities with budget allocations. One of these is the allocation of PhP 20 million annually in the Provincial Development and Investment Plan 2020-2024 for a program on the Southwestern Negros Key Biodiversity Area. To date, the program has benefitted 101 individuals within the local community and has resulted to the planting of a total of 170,000 seedlings, of which 155,000 are native seedlings. “The communities who were directly hired to plant the seedlings and provided with livelihoods benefited greatly from this program especially when Typhoon Odette came in December of last year. For instance, they used whatever money they saved from their incomes to rebuild their houses felled by the Typhoon,” PhilBio Executive Director Ms. Lisa Paguntalan reported.
In Negros Oriental, 18 of the 111 actions are on-going. Biodiversity programs and activities have been incorporated in the new Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan 2020-2026 which saw an increased allocation from PhP 300,000 to PhP 3 million. In addition, the provincial government of Negros Oriental hired a total of 95 Forest Guards or Bantay-Gubat, 30 of whom are now tasked to protect the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes and Mount Kanlaon Natural Parks for 2022.
Ms. Plantilla of BIOFIN Philippines discussing the potential implementation of a Tourism Ecological Fee to Gov. Lacson
Richard Mahihan/Provincial Governor's Office
Ms. Paguntalan stressed that, “The synergy in plans of local government units paved the way in increasing investments in biodiversity on both Negros provinces.” BIOFIN Philippines Project Manager Ms. Anabelle Plantilla accounted that, “The entire process of localizing the BIOFIN methodology at the LGU level is a capacity building exercise with all participants learning including the provinces of Negros Oriental and Occidental, our NGO partner PhilBio, and even us in BIOFIN.” She added, “the stakeholders and BIOFIN partners now have a better understanding of both the BIOFIN methodology and finance solutions and this will be realized thanks to the assurance and commitment of Governor Lacson.”
BIOFIN is a global UNDP initiative across 41 countries which contributes to closing the financing gap for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity by identifying, accessing, combining and sequencing sources of biodiversity funding. In the Philippines, BIOFIN is working with the DENR to finance the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP), the country’s roadmap to conserving its biodiversity. The PBSAP implementation costs PhP24B/year or PhP334B (USD 7.4B low estimate) from 2015 to 2028. However, public expenditure was estimated at only P4.9B/year (USD 110M) thus a gap of almost PhP19B (USD 349M) annually was determined. Several finance solutions to address this gap were identified and are being piloted by BIOFIN at present including mainstreaming biodiversity into local plans and programs. [E]
