Philippine Laws / Orders regarding the protection of biodiversity y Philippine Mining Act of 1995- All mineral resources in public

and private lands within the territory and exclusive economic zone of the Republic of the Philippines are owned by the State. It shall be the responsibility of the State to promote their rational exploration, development, utilization and conservation through the combined efforts of government and the private sector in order to enhance national growth in a way that effectively safeguards the environment and protect the rights of affected communities. "Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan Act."- declared the policy of the State to protect, develop and conserve its natural resources. Towards this end, it shall assist and support the implementation of plans, programs and projects formulated to preserve and enhance the environment, and at the same time pursue the socioeconomic development goals of the country. o It shall support and promote the sustainable development goals for the provinces through proper conservation, utilization and development of natural resources to provide optimum yields on a continuing basis. With specific reference to forest resources, the State shall pursue and implement forest conservation and protection through the imposition of a total commercial logging ban as hereinafter provided. o It shall also adopt the necessary measures leading to the creation of institutional machinery including, among others, fiscal and financial programs to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of environmental plans, programs and projects. o It shall also promote and encourage the involvement of all sectors of society and maximize people participation in natural resource management, conservation and protection. National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992."- Cognizant of the profound impact of man s activities of all components of the natural environment particularly the effect of increasing population, resource exploitation and industrial advancement and recognizing the critical importance of protecting and maintaining the natural biological and physical diversities of the environment notably on areas with biologically unique features to sustain human life and development, as well as plant and animal life, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to secure for the Filipino people of present and future generations the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals through the establishment of a comprehensive system of integrated protected areas within the classification of national park as provided for in the Constitution. o It is hereby recognized that these areas, although distinct in features, possess common ecological values that maybe incorporated into a holistic plan representative of our natural heritage; that effective administration of these areas is possible only through cooperation among national government, local government and concerned private organizations; that the use and enjoyment of these protected areas must be consistent with the principles of biological diversity and sustainable development. o To this end, there is hereby established a National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS), which shall encompass outstanding remarkable areas and biologically important public lands that are habitats of rare and endangered species of plants and

animals, biogeographic zones and related ecosystems, whether terrestrial, wetland or marine, all of which shall be designated as "protected areas". Act no. 2950- Except as in this Act provided, it shall be unlawful for any person in the Philippine Islands to hunt, wound, take, or kill, or have in his or her possession, living or dead, or to purchase, offer, or expose for sale, transport, ship, or export, alive or dead, any protected bird, fish, shellfish, or mammal, or to sell or have in possession for sale any part of either. It shall likewise be unlawful for any person to take or willfully destroy the nest or eggs of any protected bird or to have such nest or eggs in his or her possession. Presidential decree no. 1433- Promulgating the plant quarantine law of 1978, thereby revising and consolidating existing plant quarantine laws to further improve and strengthen the plant quarantine service of the bureau of plant industry. Whereas, economic losses due to injury on agricultural crops brought about by plant pests have become increasingly significant; o Whereas, the prevention of introduction, incursion, establishment and subsequent spread of plant pests by regulating the international and domestic movements of plants and plant products, is considered more practical and economical than any other method of plant pest control; o Whereas, modern means of transportation and handling of imports and exports have favored the expeditious and extensive movements of plants and plant products, thereby, increasing the risk of plant pest introduction and/or incursion; o Whereas, plant quarantine is basically and essentially a preventive measure, it being the actual frontline defense against the introduction or incursion into the country of plant pests which are destructive to our agricultural crops; o Whereas, some of the provisions of act no. 3027 dated march 8, 1922, entitled, "an act to protect the agricultural industries of the Philippine islands from injurious plant pests and diseases existing in foreign countries and further to regulate the domestic movement of the plant materials in order to minimize the injury from pests and diseases already introduced." and act no. 3767, dated November 26, 1930, entitled "an act regulating the importation, bringing or introduction into the Philippine islands of living animals, such as insects, birds, crustaceans, bats, mollusks, reptiles, mammals, and other animals, not falling within the scope of the term 'domestic animals' as provided and defined in section four of act numbered thirty-six hundred and thirty-nine, in order to protect the agricultural industries of this country and for other purposes" are no longer relevant and applicable to the protection of plant industries of this country, and therefore, require urgent and immediate modification and updating.

Philippine Laws / Orders regarding the protection of watersheds/bodies of water

"Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004."- This Act shall apply to water quality management in all water bodies: Provided, That it shall primarily apply to the abatement and control of pollution from land based sources: Provided, further, That the water quality standards and regulations and the civil liability and penal provisions under this Act shall be enforced irrespective of sources of pollution.

Proclamation no. 926- Establishing Subic watershed forest reserve for purposes of protecting, maintaining, or improving its water field and providing restraining mechanisms for inappropriate forest exploitation and disruptive land use, o A certain parcel of land of the public domain situated in the province of Bataan, island of Luzon, Philippines. Presidential Decree no. 1152- The various government agencies concerned with environmental protection shall establish to the greatest extent practicable a water quality surveillance and monitoring network with sufficient stations and sampling schedules to meet the needs of the country. Said water quality surveillance network shall put to maximum use the capabilities of such government agencies. Each agency involved in such network shall report to the National Environment Protection Council the results of these monitoring activities as the need arises. SC Orders Executive Agencies to Clean-up Manila Bay- The Supreme Court today ordered all concerned government agencies to coordinate in the clean-up, restoration, and preservation of Manila Bay. o In a unanimous 36-page decision penned by Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr., the Court ordered petitioner government agencies to coordinate the cleanup, restoration, and preservation of the water quality of the Manila Bay, a place with a proud historic past, once brimming with marine life and, for so many decades in the in the past, a spot for different contact recreation activities, but now a dirty and slowly dying expanse mainly because of the abject official indifference of people and institutions, in line with the country s development objective to attain economic growth in a manner consistent with the protection, preservation, and revival of our marine waters. o The petitioners include the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Budget and Management ((DBM), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). o In light of the ongoing environmental degradation, the Court wishes to emphasize the extreme necessity for all concerned executive departments and agencies to immediately act and discharge their respective official duties and obligations. Indeed, time is of the essence; hence, there is a need to set timetables for the performance and completion of the tasks, some of them as defined for them by law and the nature of their respective offices and mandates